Gareth Southgate opens up on Harry Kane’s ‘tough’ Euro 2024 after England lose final

Substitute Cole Palmer got England back into the final with an equaliser before Mikel Oyarzabal fired a late Spain winner

Gareth Southgate admitted Harry Kane did not perform how England hoped he would amid physical struggles as they fell to an agonising late defeat by Spain in the final of Euro 2024.

Kane, England’s captain and record goalscorer, was again subsitituted by Southgate during the second half and replaced by the more mobile Ollie Watkins after struggling to make an impression on the match.

The Bayern Munich striker scored more than 40 goals this season for his new club but a back injury curtailed his campaign and disrupted his run-up to the Euros.

“Physically it’s been a tough period for him,” Southgate said. “He came in short of games, and he’s not quite got up to the level that we’d have all hoped. The games are hugely demanding and we felt Ollie’s freshness would allow us to press a bit better, which we needed to do, and would offer us a threat in behind.”

Kane said the defeat by was “as tough as it gets” after Mikel Oyarzabal grabbed a late winner in Berlin.

Oyarzabal came off the bench to fire the Spaniards to a 2-1 victory after fellow substitute Cole Palmer had cancelled out Nico Williams’ opener to extend England’s 58-year wait for a major trophy.

Asked for his reaction after the final whistle, Kane said: “Losing in a final is as tough as it gets. We did really well to get back into the game and get it back to 1-1, and then we couldn’t quite use that momentum to push on.

“We couldn’t quite keep the ball and we got punished for it towards the end of the game, so it’s as painful as it could be in a football match.”

Asked why England had not been able to build upon Palmer’s leveller, Kane added: “I don’t know. We didn’t quite manage the same intensity and pressure, I guess, we didn’t quite keep the ball well enough.

“It’s the last stage of the tournament, there’s a lot of tired legs, there’s a lot of tired mentality there and we just struggled. Then obviously we got caught with the ball in behind.

“These [games] are down to big moments, we had a big moment at the end there where they cleared one off the line and it could have been different, but for now it’s just really disappointing.”

It's been a difficult ride.

England captain Harry Kane

It has proved a testing tournament for Southgate’s men, who have struggled for consistency, and Kane’s form in particular has been a topic for debate.

He said: “It’s been a tough tournament. We’ve had to show a lot of resilience, me personally and the whole team as well. It’s been a difficult ride.

“We’ve done extremely well to get here, but ultimately were going to be judged on this game. We wanted to do it so badly for ourselves, but also for the fans and everyone who has believed in us the whole way, so right now it’s just huge disappointment.”

Southgate himself came in for concerted criticism earlier in the tournament and there is a school of thought which suggests that he will now call time on his reign as national team boss.

Gareth Southgate walks past the trophy (PA Wire)

Asked if the players wanted the former defender to stay, Kane said: “We’ve made it clear we love the manager, but that’s his decision. This is not the time to talk about that now.

“That’s down to him. He’ll go away and think about it. Right now we’re all just hurting.”