International: Eniola Aluko believes England should have prepared another penalty-taker than Harry Kane
Former England Women’s international Eniola Aluko believes that Gareth Southgate should have prepared another penalty-taker because of Harry Kane’s relationship with France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris at club level at Tottenham Hotspur.
Kane fired his penalty above the crossbar as the Three Lions stumbled to a 2-1 defeat to Les Bleus in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup. The Spurs striker scored the first penalty to equalise the score, but very surprisingly missed the second.
Now, former Lioness Aluko believes the mind games were too much for the England captain and Southgate should have prepared a second taker. (h/t Express)
“I don’t think you can underestimate the Kane missed penalty against his [Tottenham] team-mate. I think it got into his head. Maybe England should have planned, there are so many lessons when you lose but maybe England should have planned. “
“It looked like it got into Kane’s head shooting against his team-mate. You saw on the first penalty, he was pulling up his socks and he was really taking his time. Second penalty there I’m thinking ‘should someone else have taken it?”
The Tottenham skipper was enjoying a fine tournament so far this year. The 29-year-old played in all five games for his country, scoring two goals and registering another three assists in the process.
While it is understandable why such comments would come Kane’s way, and maybe Aluko is right that the mind games were too much for the Spurs striker. But, Lloris too cannot be underestimated.
Kane, if anything, is one of the most prolific penalty-takers in Europe and most of the teams would love to have a striker like the 29-year-old in their side. But the France captain is an equally exceptional keeper and has kept out shots from many prolific players over the years.
Ultimately, football is a game of fine margins and this time it was the keeper who won against the striker. Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford had the chance to equalise from a free-kick in injury time, but his shot also was inches above the crossbar.
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France will now play Morocco in the semi-finals this Wednesday. Kane will now likely return back to Hotspur Way where a tight second half of the season awaits him. It remains to be seen if the penalty miss takes a toll on the 29-year-old for the rest of the season.
