Euros 2020: Harry Kane opens up on England's heartbreaking loss to Italy

Harry Kane admitted that the penalty shootout loss will "hurt" England players for the rest of their careers following their loss in the Euros 2020 final to Italy on Sunday.

While Kane said that the loss will hurt them for a while, he also asked his boys to be proud as a group of what they have achieved.

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw put England 1-0 up within two minutes from the kick-off. Unbeaten in 33 games, Italy bounced back, courtesy of 67th minute equaliser from Leonardo Bonucci. He struck after England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford turned Marco Verratti's header on to a post.

The scoreline was 1-1 through the 120 minutes before England fell short 3-2 on penalties. England, who are yet to win the European Championship, missed three out of their five shorts. While Kane and Harry Maguire converted from the spot, the side's youngest players – Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Bukayo Saka – missed their respective penalty shots.

"I couldn't have given more. The boys couldn't have given more. Penalties are the worst feeling in the world when you lose. It wasn't our night but it's been a fantastic tournament and we should hold our heads high. Of course, it's going to hurt now. It's going to hurt for a while, but we're on the right track and we're building and hopefully, we can progress from this next year.

We should be extremely proud as a group of what we have achieved," Kane told BBC One in an interview after England's Euros 2020 final loss on Sunday.

The tearful 19-year-old Saka, who showed such courage to step forward, was later seen crying uncontrollably before he was quickly consoled by his team-mates and manager.

"We're all winners and want to win so it will probably hurt for a while and it will hurt for the rest of our careers, but that's football. We progressed well from Russia and now it is about continuing that," the Spurs forward said.

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The England national team's captain Kane also defended Rashford, Sancho, and Saka, saying this loss will only keep them motivated to bounce back ahead of the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup.

"You've got to hold your heads high. It's been a fantastic tournament. Anyone can miss a penalty. We win together, we lose together. We'll learn and grow from it. Those boys will grow from it and it will give us more motivation for the World Cup next year. We were playing against a very good side. We got off to the perfect start. Maybe dropped a little too deep sometimes. They had a lot of the ball. We looked fairly in control, they didn't create too many chances," the 27-year-old forward, who finished Euros 2020 with four goals, added further.