David Beckham has praised Harry Kane after England's World Cup defeat, describing the team captain as a 'true leader'.
As most of you are sorely aware, England played their final match in Qatar last night (10 December) after losing 2-1 to France in the quarter finals of the ongoing football tournament.
Alongside the devastated fans, Kane himself took to Twitter after the game to say he was 'absolutely gutted'.
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The team captain went on to 'take responsibility' for 'a small detail' which led to the outcome, seemingly in reference to his late penalty miss which could have taken the game into extra time.
Despite the unfortunate result, Beckham - who played three FIFA World Cup tournaments throughout his pro football career - took to Instagram to praise Kane and his players.
Sharing a number of images from the match, he wrote: "Our boys will continue to grow...
"It’s always the worst feeling waking up after being knocked out of a tournament but our players, Gareth the staff and all our fans can be proud of this team."
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The 47-year-old continued: "It takes a true leader to step up in these moments and that’s what our captain did.
"The next time it will be a different ending... we walk away with our heads held high @england."
As well as nearly a million likes, his post has received thousands of comments, with many praising both Beckham and the players and sharing messages of solidarity.
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"The whole team and back room staff should be proud of themselves," wrote one.
"They played with commitment and pride throughout the whole tournament.
"Such much good to take away from how they have all conducted themselves on and off the pitch."
Another said: "Kane is amazing and he took the responsibility and with that comes losses and wins.
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"He has the character to come back and start fresh… these kind of athletes are cleaners."
"We totally deserved to win, they were amazing," added a third.
Of course, not everyone was in agreement with this sentiment - this is football, after all. There were just as many comments from would-be-pro-athletes suggesting how they would've played the game better if it was up to them.
.webp)
"You have a joke of manager, he couldn't use subs properly especially last minutes of the match," wrote one.
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Another suggested: "Our mentality is the issue. No killer instinct culture in our football.
"Look at Croatia taking pens. Never in doubt. No merci, killer instinct.
"We don’t have that. We never have and until that changes we’ll never win a tournament."
Featured Image Credit: Sipa US/PA Images/AlamyTopics: Football, Sport, David Beckham, Harry Kane, World Cup