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Harry Kane admits England vs Croatia World Cup semi-final miss 'hurts'

Harry Kane missed a golden chance to put England 2-0 ahead in this summer's World Cup semi-final: Getty Images
Harry Kane missed a golden chance to put England 2-0 ahead in this summer's World Cup semi-final: Getty Images

England captain Harry Kane has admitted that the chance he missed against Croatia in the World Cup semi-final still "hurts", but insists he will be fully focused when the two meet again on Sunday night.

Croatia travel to Wembley for what is essentially a winner-takes-all playoff, with the victor qualifying for next summer's Uefa Nations League semi-finals and the loser facing relegation.

The fixture is a repeat of the World Cup semi-final of four months ago, which Croatia won 2-1 after extra time.

Kieran Trippier's free-kick had put England ahead before Kane missed a glorious chance to double the lead, and the Croatians came from behind to reach their first final.

"I've always said as a striker whenever you miss a chance you obviously have to forget about it as quickly as possible during the game and be ready for the next one - but it hurts," Kane said.

"Obviously with any big game that you lose, you always think about what you could have done better and there's not many games bigger than a World Cup semi-final.

"Of course I don't think about it as much anymore but I'm just trying to focus on each game as they come along.

"For us it's about trying to win the game tomorrow and get to another semi-final."