Gary Lineker has made a very public display of support for England captain Harry Kane, after his penalty miss against France as the Three Lion crashed out of the World Cup on Saturday night.
The quarter final was always going to be a closely fought battle and it was France who got their noses in front before half time, only fo r Kane to then equalise early into the second half from the spot. France went 2-1 up thanks to an Olivier Giroud, before Kane had the chance to level things up from a penalty again, but blazed his spot kick over the bar.
Kane looked gutted in the immediate aftermath of his penalty miss and then again as the full time whistle blew and Match of the Day presenter Gary was among the many stars who rushed to send him a message of support. While England v France aired on ITV, BBC pundit Gary tuned in along with an audience in excess of 20 million.
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After the crushing defeat, he reached out to skipper Kane on Twitter. Kane took to his account on Sunday morning to write: "Absolutely gutted. We’ve given it everything and it’s come down to a small detail which I take responsibility for. There’s no hiding from it, it hurts and it’ll take some time to get over it but that’s part of sport." Quoting the tweet and sharing it on his own timeline, Gary wrote: "You’ve nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing. Everybody misses a penalty sometimes. Well, they do if they have the courage to take them. Go well, Harry."
Gary's show of support for Kane got a big reaction from football fans, with one replying: "Absolutely no shame in missing that pen. If the ref wasn't so bad I honestly think they result would have been different anyway. We are on our way up as a team, so until the next tournament. Chin up England." A second commented: "If the ref had given the clear foul on Saka before France’s first goal, everything that happened afterwards would have been different."
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