Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has defiantly defended Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane after his penalty miss meant England were eliminated from the World Cup.
Kane had the chance to equalise from the spot after Mason Mount was fouled in the box, but skied his penalty over the bar, and France won the quarter-final 2-1.
He had initially made it 1-1 with a well-taken penalty, a goal which saw him equal Wayne Rooney in the England top scorer list, but his second effort could not cancel out Olivier Giroud’s second-half header, and his side went home in a devastating manner.
The England captain has come in for criticism following his penalty, but Wright staunchly defended the Spurs star, claiming that he would always choose the 29-year-old to take spot-kicks.
“No way am I blaming Harry Kane. There’s no way I’m choosing anyone else to take that penalty and I’d do it again,” Wright stated on his Podcast Wrighty’s House, via his Twitter.
“It’s just a shame that we went out in the fashion we did but I still feel very, very positive about what I’m seeing and the players that are emerging.”
TIF thoughts on Wright and Kane…
Wright is correct that Kane was the best choice to take the penalty, given that he had already scored one, and his sensational record from the spot.
The England captain has scored 58 penalties out of the 69 he’s taken in his career, and given that he was successful in his first effort, with a powerful shot beyond Spurs teammate Hugo Lloris, there was no doubt that he would be the one to take the second.
It was a nightmare moment for Kane, but Wright is determined that there were plenty of positives to take from the performance, and rightfully so.