Two goals in the final minutes. Messi with the assists on both. Harry Kane has had time to sit with the pain of England's 2026 World Cup semi-final exit, and he's still not over it — though he's choosing grace over bitterness.
"That day was tough for me," Kane told MARCA. "A difficult moment to be eliminated like that." England lost 2-1 to Argentina, then beat France 6-4 in the third-place play-off — a result that, let's be honest, does nothing to soften the blow of what they missed. Third place is still the first loser.
Kane takes the long view — and means it
What's striking about Kane's comments isn't the diplomacy. It's that he actually sounds like someone who has wrestled with this and landed somewhere real, not somewhere safe for the cameras.
"I remember hugging him and wishing him good luck for the final," he said of Messi. "The best players facing off on the biggest stage — and of course, there's always going to be a loser." That's not a press-trained soundbite. That's a captain trying to teach himself something.
Kane, 73 goals for club and country last season and now in genuine Ballon d'Or contention, remains arguably England's most complete player of the modern era. But World Cup finals have a way of defining legacies, and this one slipped through his fingers at the semi-final stage. Again.
Messi keeps rolling at club level
While Kane reflects, Messi moves on. On Wednesday, the 39-year-old reached 100 goals for Inter Miami in a 2-0 Campeones Cup win over Cruz Azul — getting there in 115 appearances, with 58 assists alongside them for good measure.
That's 76 MLS goals, 14 in the Leagues Cup, eight in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, and one in the Club World Cup. A man who contributed eight goals and four assists across eight World Cup matches this summer is now using Cruz Azul as a milestone marker.
Both Kane and Messi are on the Ballon d'Or shortlist. Kane has the numbers. Messi has the World Cup run. Argentina didn't win the tournament — they lost in the final — but his fingerprints were all over England's elimination, and voters tend to remember those moments.
"He's always put the team before himself," Kane said. "I think that's one of the reasons why Argentina was so successful." High praise from someone who watched that quality end his own World Cup dream in real time.
