Harry Kane ‘was overthinking’ for his decisive penalty miss against France – with the World Cup’s long VAR delays to blame – says Jurgen Klinsmann, as FIFA chiefs analyse England’s exit
Delays caused by VAR caused Harry Kane to ‘overthink’ his second penalty against France, believes Jurgen Klinsmann.
Kane, having scored his first penalty of the quarter-final to become England’s joint all-time record scorer, stepped up for a second time when Mason Mount was bundled over by Theo Hernandez.
But Kane was made to wait as a long VAR check was held to award the second penalty and the England striker was waiting so long he picked up the ball to reposition it, leading Klinsmann to claim he had overthought where he was going.
Harry Kane missed a decisive penalty in England’s World Cup quarter-final defeat to France
Jurgen Klinsmann (right) believes the length of the VAR delay caused Kane (left) to ‘overthink’
In a wider argument made by Klinsmann, who works for FIFA, he has VAR delays down to blame for a number of penalty misses at the World Cup in Qatar.
‘There is far too much time passing with VAR checks etc,’ Klinsmann said, as reported by the Telegraph.
‘It works in your brain. I’m a big Harry Kane fan. If he had the chance to put the ball down and take it immediately [he would probably score]. But the time goes by and you overthink.’
Kane chose to go for the same side on the second penalty, to the goalkeeper’s right.
Kane went the same side on his second penalty of the game, but got under it and sent it over
Lloris guessed it but Kane had gone for power, perhaps thinking he needed to add some more to it after the first one, and sent it well over the bar.
But Kane has ‘taken it on the chin’ and has assumed responsibility as France went on to run out 2-1 winners, booking their spot in the semi-finals.
‘It comes down to execution’, Kane said. ‘As captain, I take it on the chin and responsibility missing the penalty.
‘It is hard to take for sure but I can be proud of the group, proud of each other for what we’ve done.
‘This will hurt for a while but we will dust ourselves down to get ready in the future.’
Kane (right, consoled by Jude Bellingham) now has a week off before returning to club action
Kane added: ‘I am gutted, the team are gutted. We had full belief that we could achieve something special at this World Cup but it came down to small details.’
Kane has since been given a week to overcome the heartache of his World Cup penalty miss as he prepares for a return to domestic action.
Kane and his international team-mates returned home from Qatar on Sunday, the day after the quarter-final loss to France.
The striker was visibly emotional after the final whistle – but Kane only has seven days to get over the disappointment with his return to Tottenham scheduled for Monday, December 19.
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