Jordan Henderson sent a message of support to Harry Kane after the England captain's penalty miss in their World Cup quarter-final defeat to France.
Gareth Southgate's side, beaten 2-1 on Saturday evening by Les Blues, suffered a heartbreaking ending to proceedings after watching Kane blaze a penalty over the bar with six minutes left on the clock.
France took the lead during the first half courtesy of Aurelien Tchouameni's strike from distance, though Kane restored parity from 12 yards after Bukayo Saka was bundled over inside the area. Unable to score from the spot at the second time of asking, Kane's wayward effort ensured the Three Lions' World Cup dream was over.
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After reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the final of Euro 2020, Southgate's men appeared well-placed to go deep in the tournament in Qatar. That scenario is no longer a possibility, leaving a sour taste for Henderson.
Asked after the game if tonight was a 'missed chance' for this group, the Liverpool captain told ITV: "Probably. We felt really good, and the performances were really good. The focus and hunger was good every single day. Unfortunately, it wasn't our night. You've got to give credit to France as they're a good team, but I still felt it was there for us to win tonight.
"It's hard to now, straight after the game, it’s difficult to find the right words. I thought we gave everything in the game. We were disappointed to go 1-0 down but the character and mentality to keep going and find the equaliser, I can’t say anymore, really, we give it everything and unfortunately it wasn't our night."
On Kane's failure to convert his second penalty of the evening, Henderson added: "We know how many penalties he has scored for us. He scored the first one and how many goals he’s contributed for us to get here. He’ll be stronger in the long run, I'm sure. He’s a world class striker, our captain, and we wouldn’t be here without him."
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