Harry Kane’s voice, or perhaps lack thereof, summed up what was a brilliant night for England in Mexico City as they booked a spot in the World Cup quarter-finals.
To say that drama unfolded at the Estadio Azteca would be quite the understatement.
There were penalties, a red card, a heroic performance from Jude Bellingham and the kind of defensive performance that will go down in history as England conquered the altitude to claim a historic victory.
It was arguably the most famous night in English football since the World Cup final in 1966 and there can be no better description of it than Kane’s voice after the game.
Kane loses his voice after dramatic England win
Interviewed by BBC Sport, Kane struggled to get his words out.
The England captain scored the penalty that ultimately proved to be the winner on the night for his country, taking his goal tally up to seven for this tournament.
Reflecting on it all, Kane’s voice had completely gone. It perfectly illustrated the extent to which England dug in to get a result in an intimidating atmosphere.
“Yeah, Jordan [Henderson], sorry my voice has gone! Hendo just fell over there, I think he’s okay. Something to do with his arm.
“It was a crazy game. We had to fight. I’ve just been singing there, I can’t really talk. All the occasion, the team, everything against us. We found a way.”
Asked if the resilience impressed him, particularly after Kane himself gave away a penalty: “Yeah, I thought I got to the ball first. It was one of those days that the ref gave a lot against us. In the end, it didn’t matter, so yeah, I’m happy.”
Quizzed on what the result might mean for England going forward, he said: “Just look at them [the fans] here. Incredible. Unbelievable support, speechless. I can’t even talk.”
England are growing into this tournament, perhaps peaking just at the time right. There remain concerns but the character they showed in testing circumstances in Mexico City speaks to a team who are coming of age.
This, of course, is a knockout competition and anything can happen. Nothing has been achieved yet, but the sheer force of will only adds to the sense of momentum that England are now riding upon.
Kane is already an England legend, arguably more so than any other player who did not lift the World Cup at Wembley in 1966. Interviews of this nature will only underline that even further.
It is hard to put exactly what happened at the Azteca into words when one hasn’t just played in what is surely one of the greatest World Cup games of all time, anyway…
