Gordon D’Costa
Jürgen Klinsmann, a key member of the West German team that won the country’s third FIFA World Cup title in 1990, felt it was a rare blemish by the England captain Harry Kane who missed a crucial penalty in the 2-1 quarter-final defeat against France at the Al Bayt Stadium last Saturday.
“It was a rare blemish from the Tottenham man, who had smashed home his first penalty earlier in the second half under similar pressure. But while Kane normally takes lesser time, about eight seconds after the whistle to take a spot-kick, he spent almost over 20 seconds trying to win the mind battle with France goalkeeper and his Spurs teammate Hugo Lloris,” Klinsmann observed.
Klinsmann, head of FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG), made this statement during the analysis of the knockout stage, at the Main Media Centre in Doha. The other members of the Technical Study Group include Du-Ri Cha of South Korea, Faryd Mondragón a former Colombian football goalkeeper, Sunday Oliseh a Nigerian football manager and former player, Pascal Zuberbühler a former Swiss football goalkeeper and Alberto Zaccheroni an Italian football manager.
“If he had the chance to just put the ball down and shoot it, I don’t think there would have been any problem for him. But we’ve seen just how much time passes from the referee whistling for a penalty and the player taking it. That works on your brain, as a player. It took so much time and in that situation you start to think and over-think. That all goes through your mind and you end up not executing the shot as you would have done right after the whistle,” explained the former German captain, who made his international football debut for West Germany in 1987 and finished with 108 caps for the country.
The German legend was disappointed that England had to meet reigning champions France in the quarter-finals. “It’s a shame that England against France came too early in the tournament, because it should have been a semi-final or the final. One team had to go home and that was England,” opined Klinsmann, who was named the captain of a reunified German national team in 1994 and in 2004 he managed the Germany men’s national team, which he led to a third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup before resigning shortly after the tournament.
“But they played a very good tournament and they are still a team that is growing and who are able to get better over the next few years. The English team has not reached its limit, by any means. There is a lot of talent there, players who are getting better and who will gain more experience. The last three tournaments, Russia, the Euros and now here in Qatar, have been very positive, even if this one ended in the quarter-finals. There is more to come from England.”