5 min readJul 16, 2026 05:28 PM IST Harry Kane stood with his hands on his hips and looked at the grass. Around him the Atlanta stadium had split into two noises, one of which had nothing to do with him any more. Lionel Messi came over, took Kane’s head in both hands, and pulled it into his shoulder. Kane let it stay there. Then he straightened, turned towards the England end, walked the length of the pitch and slowly began to clap towards the English crowd. He found Jude Bellingham and held him. Bellingham, ten years his junior, was seen minutes later with his face in his hand. Anthony Gordon, who had scored the goal England could not keep, stood apart from all of it, hands on his hips, watching. England had led since the 55th minute. Enzo Fernandez bent one in from distance in the 85th. Two minutes into stoppage time Messi crossed and Lautaro Martínez headed the winner. “It’s a similar story to what’s happened in previous tournaments,” Kane said afterwards. “We’d …