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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Robert Hynes

England fans turn on ITV commentator Sam Matterface after Harry Kane comment

A number of England fans have hit out at ITV commentator Sam Matterface over a comment he made after Harry Kane's penalty miss against France.

The Spurs striker blasted the ball over the bar from the spot-kick in the 84th minute after scoring from an earlier penalty in the first half.

The miss ultimately saw France go on to win the game 2-1 as England's penalty heartbreak continued.

READ MORE: Gareth Southgate admits he may not watch World Cup semi-finals after England's agony

Matterface was on commentary duty for ITV and said following the miss: "They needed Gary Lineker, they got Chris Waddle," referencing the latter's infamous 1990 semi-final shootout miss.

The comment did not go down well with England supporters, a number of who took to social media to criticise Matterface.

One said: "I honestly believe Sam Matterface saying 'We needed Gary Lineker, but we got Chris Waddle' is one of the worst commentary lines of all time."

Another commented: "Didn't like Sam Matterface's snide "They needed Gary Lineker, they got Chris Waddle" about a player whose first pen kept England in the game, equalling Rooney's record. Insults a fine player in Waddle too. Cheap shot. Where are Clive Tyldesley & Ally McCoist when you need them?"

Sam Matterface (Instagram/ Sam Matterface)

Someone else tweeted: "The negativity from @sammatterface throughout the game was hard to take but can be ignored. The comment about Chris Waddle was disrespectful to a player that played at the top of the game and is widely lauded by ex-pros. Commentary has to be a level above pub talk surely?"

One other comment read: "Think pretty much every sentient England fan agrees that Harry Kane shouldn’t be pilloried even tomorrow for missing that pen, let alone in 30 years time. So what does Sam Matterface do, he shames Chris Waddle for his 1990 miss. The opposite of classy commentary."

After the game, Kane took responsibility for England’s World Cup quarter-final exit, saying: “It is a really tough night to take.

“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.

“I thought on the night we had the better chances and better spells in the game. It comes down to execution. As captain, I take it on the chin and responsibility missing the penalty.

(Mohammad Karamali/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

“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.”

But manager Gareth Southgate told his captain that he should not blame himself for England's exit from the tournament.

“As you’d expect he’s very, very low but he’s got nothing to reproach himself for,” the England boss said. “We’re in the position we are as a team because of his leadership, because of his goals over a long period of time.

“Tonight the result is the result because of 100 minutes of football and lots of things that happened at both ends of the pitch.

“Even if that goes in we’ve still got a lot to do to win the game, so, for us, no recriminations.

“We’ve always stuck together as a team. The group of players have been brilliant. We win and lose together as simple as that.”

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