Kane rues England's latest near miss

Harry Kane said England is still searching for the "missing piece" that continues to deny it at major tournaments after exiting the World Cup with a 2-1 semifinal loss to Argentina on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

The defeat extends England's wait for a first World Cup triumph since 1966, and it has also failed to win a Euro title despite reaching the last two finals.

"We had a lot of good moments at this tournament, a lot of good games and another semifinal," Kane said after the match at Atlanta Stadium. "We talk about knocking on the door, we're close, we just need to find that missing piece late in the tournament.

"These tournaments take it out of you with so much effort, pressure and mentality. We've shown that throughout the six or seven weeks we've been together but we're just missing that final piece."

England took the lead through Anthony Gordon early in the second half before Argentina responded with goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez, the latter arriving in stoppage time to send the holders through to Sunday's final against Spain.

"Gutted for the boys, gutted for everyone - the team, the staff, the fans," said Kane, who scored six goals in the tournament.

"We played a good game the large majority of it. When we went 1-0 up we seemed to try and hold on, which at this level is not enough."

"So, just gutted because we've worked so hard to be here and the lads have given every last bit of running, blood, sweat, tears."

Kane felt England lost its grip on the game defensively after taking the lead.

"We struggled to get pressure on the ball," the England captain said. "Especially first half and start of the second half, we pressed them well, we put them under loads of pressure high up the pitch which then allowed us to win balls and control the game a bit better.

"After the goal, whether it was them putting more men forward or us not being able to match them man for man, it was just wave after wave. Lads were putting blocks in but, in the end, it just wasn't enough."

Asked about England's response once Argentina turned the game around, Kane said: "I don't know. The boys are always ready for any moment in the game. When we went ahead the messaging was to go again and get another goal.

"Then once they scored their two goals it was to try and find something but we couldn't quite get the momentum back in the game."

England will play in the third-place playoff against France in Miami on Saturday.