Harry Kane has praised the spirit of the England team after they came from behind to defeat the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-final on Wednesday.
Xavi Simons gave the Oranje the lead in the seventh minute before Kane levelled from the penalty spot 11 minutes later.
It seemed as though the game was going into extra time for England for the the third time in the knockout phase but Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins popped up with the winner in added time.
Kane stated that the comeback was a testament to the team’s character during the Euros.
“Yeah, it shows the character, the resilience, everything we speak about, everything we spoke about before the camp that we’re going to need to win a major tournament,” the Bayern Munich forward said.
“And, yeah, we’ve been knocking it off. You know, going behind again, there was no panic, of no kind. If anything that made us step up our game even more. We got back into the game with a penalty and from there, you know, it was us looking like we was going to nick the second goal.
“And it took to a special moment from Ollie [Watkins] to do that. And we talk a lot about being together as a team, all 26 players being ready for their opportunity. You never know when it’s going to come, whether it’s a semi-final, a final, five minutes, one minute, be ready to take your chance and Ollie did that today, so I couldn’t be prouder of him.”
Our captain has become the player with most goals in the knockout stage of men’s EURO history.@HKane has also equalled the record of @alanshearer as the #ThreeLions‘ all-time leading goalscorer in the competition. pic.twitter.com/9I2UB9opeL
— England (@England) July 11, 2024
England will face Spain in the final on Sunday and Kane will be hoping his team produce another moment of brilliance.
“Ultimately, you know, you’re in a final. Both teams are going to be physically tired because it’s been a tough, tough journey,” he added.
“So it’s just going to be about, mentally, who gets it right. And also just moments, you know, we’ve had moments in this tournament that have kept us in it and also pushed us over the line. And we’re going to need that on Sunday if we want to be champions.”
England have reached the final of a major tournament on foreign soil for the first time as their previous appearances at the 1966 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2020 were at Wembley in London.
