England and penalties: when will the torment end?
Like many spot-kick failures in the past, Harry Kane's gut-wrenching late miss as the Three Lions crashed out of the World Cup will be etched into the nation's memory for years to come. The England captain had emphatically tucked away from 12 yards earlier in the narrow 2-1 defeat to holders France, but Kane skied his second effort to spell the end of the Three Lions' campaign in Qatar at the quarter-finals.
The Tottenham Hotspur striker, usually so reliable from the spot, insisted afterwards that it was just a failure of technique. And while to an extent that is certainly true, there are certainly ways that his England teammates - and even boss Gareth Southgate - could have helped. Mirror Football takes a look....
Whether it's opposition players distracting the kick taker or scuffing up the spot, we're seeing more dark arts and clever teamwork at play when it comes to penalty situations. A year ago for example, as Chelsea star Kai Havertz scored the winning goal in the Club World Cup final, captain Cesar Azpilicueta faked being the taker to guard Havertz from a host of disgruntled Palmeiras players attempting to put him off.
Like Azpilicueta, Liverpool skipper and Three Lions midfielder Jordan Henderson has the job of protecting the likes of Mohamed Salah and Kane when his team are awarded a penalty and the pressure ensues. As laid out in a detailed Twitter thread by Norwegian sports science professor Geir Jordet, Henderson was at it again for Kane's first penalty against France - but crucially not the second.
In an instance not dissimilar to one which fans picked up on back in October during Liverpool's 2-0 Champions League victory over Rangers, the 32-year-old firstly likes to speak to the taker - in Saturday's case Kane - before they place the ball down from 12 yards out. This guards them from opposition players trying to play mind games, a tactic which we've seen done both successfully and unsuccessfully at this year's World Cup, with Henderson effectively a de facto barrier from unwanted distractions.
In the 54th minute on Saturday night, when Kane first stepped up after England's Bukayo Saka was clipped by Aurelien Tchouameni with the score 1-0 France, Henderson did his thing. After rallying his teammate with words of encouragement, Liverpool's beloved stalwart took up his regular position far back from the penalty area.
As Kane began his run-up, Henderson could be seen sprinting back towards the box, timing his run so that he could be first to any rebound and even beat the players who had standing starts from 18 yards out - the closest possible position before the ball is kicked.
There was no need for a rebound, though, as Kane sent Hugo Lloris the wrong way and blasted his shot into the left-hand side of the net to make it 1-1. Regardless of Henderson not needing to play a direct role, the sight of an opponent sprinting in behind the taker can't be anything but a distraction for a goalkeeper.
Wihen Kane stepped up a second time, in the dying embers of the game after Olivier Giroud scored France's second goal, few would've believed that England's No.9 would miss. Having equalled Wayne Rooney's goalscoring record earlier in the night, this was his moment. Alas, this time around, it was different.
Henderson had been substituted by Southgate just five minutes beforehand, replaced by Mason Mount. Although it was Mount whose intelligent off-the-ball run drew a clumsy and downright stupid foul from France left-back Theo Hernandez, the absence of Henderson when Kane was tasked with scoring for a second time may well have proved fatal to England's World Cup chances.
Kane spent a full 30 seconds standing alone while the French players disputed the VAR decision - which had already taken two minutes to determine by referee Wilton Sampaio thanks to a pitch-side VAR check. The England striker was surrounded by blue shirts, something that John Stones pointed out, promoting Mount and Jude Bellingham to get involved.
Sadly for the Three Lions, Kane saw his shot fly over Lloris' crossbar and into the stands, taking with it went England's dreams of winning a first international trophy in 68 years.
Crestfallen, only Bellingham immediately rushed to console Kane in the seconds after the miss, trying to lift his captain's head, with Southgate's side now needing to regroup and chase an elusive equaliser. In that moment, England's youngest player was it's biggest leader.
The final whistle prompted a wave of support from Kane; whether it be Jordan Pickford and Kieran Trippier asking a cameraman to move away or Southgate offering a hug. But there also stood Henderson not saying anything but simply being there for his teammate.
Have your say! Where did Kane go wrong for his second penalty? Give us your verdict in the comments section.
Now Kane, despite scoring a series of important penalties for club and country throughout his career, is left facing brutal criticism. Former Crystal Palace chairman and TalkSPORT co-host Simon Jordan is among those firing at Kane, declaring on the radio station : "My first reaction was, pressure. Pressure got to him on Saturday.
"People around me, they're a little bit less circumspect about what footballers should and shouldn't do. These guys get £300,000 a week, their job is to put the ball in the back of the net. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. And I do think that Harry Kane should have buried the ball in the back of the net, and taken the goalkeeper with him!
"That was the job in hand. I think he did [bottle it]. I think he overthought it. He missed the penalty. He took a great penalty first time round, but he's going into the second penalty, he's now aware again that he's facing Hugo Lloris."
Ex-Tottenham hero Jurgen Klinsmann, however, sympathises with Kane and voiced his theory on why the 29-year-old fluffed his lines on the biggest stage. "There is far too much time passing with VAR checks etcetera." Klinsmann explained, via 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."
But what did the man himself think? Kane admitted, boldly fronting up to the media post-match: "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."
Let's hope he is.
