Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane has claimed that the Three Lions can build on a 'solid foundation' to achieve success at major tournaments in the future.
Despite crashing out of this summer's World Cup at the semi-final stage, Kane revealed that the players are proud of themselves, even though they missed out on a 'great opportunity'.
A lot of emotions today. First of all I’m so proud of this team and staff for giving everything we could over a long period of time together. We have overcome so many challenges that have haunted England in the past... pic.twitter.com/LuBl6QWDY0
— Harry Kane (@HKane) July 12, 2018
“The gaffer had a little word afterwards and told us we should all be proud of ourselves,” Kane said, per the Express.
“Of course, nothing is going to make us feel any better. We are all gutted because this was a great opportunity for us. We had the belief that we could go all the way and you can never be sure if this kind of opportunity will come round again.
“But we can hold our head up high and feel proud. We have come a long way especially from two years ago. This has to be the start of something, rather than the end of it. To hear the fans singing out there after a defeat is an incredible feeling. All we can do is try and build on that.
... We have reconnected with our amazing supporters and have enjoyed this incredible experience together. It wasn’t the outcome we wanted and as painful as it is right now, I’m sure we will learn an awful lot from last night's game...
— Harry Kane (@HKane) July 12, 2018
“We have built a solid foundation over a two year period with this manager and it is so important we carry this on and continue to show we can do well in these major tournaments.
“We have shown we can in this one, the aim now is not to have to wait another 20-odd years to get in another big semi-final. We must go again and try and achieve our dreams. We’re in a great place, We are an inexperienced team, a young team no one expected us to get this far in the first place.
... It’s time now to hold our heads high as a nation and be proud of each other. I’m excited to be part of this team and the challenge to improve going forward. Thank you all for your support! #WorldCup #ENG #ThreeLions
— Harry Kane (@HKane) July 12, 2018
“It has been an amazing experience for all of us involved, Now all we can do is try to improve. We owe that to ourselves – and I know we will. In two years time, if we are at the Euros, we will go again. This will give us belief we can do it in a big tournament.”