{"id":297018,"date":"2023-11-21T00:55:01","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T00:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=297018"},"modified":"2023-11-21T00:55:01","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T00:55:01","slug":"harry-kane-proud-despite-england-slumping-to-below-par-north-macedonia-draw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/harry-kane-proud-despite-england-slumping-to-below-par-north-macedonia-draw\/","title":{"rendered":"Harry Kane ‘proud’ despite England slumping to below-par North Macedonia draw"},"content":{"rendered":"

Southgate praises Lewis despite conceding penalty on England debut<\/h3>\n

Harry Kane took just 40 seconds to stop birthday party poopers North Macedonia from completely ruining Rico Lewis\u2019s big night for England. The Manchester City defender, making his full debut on the eve of his 19th birthday, was named man of the match after the 1-1 draw in Skopje.<\/p>\n

That despite conceding the harsh penalty that had threatened England with their first defeat since the World Cup. And with Gareth Southgate\u2019s much-changed team struggling to get back into the game, Kane came on in the second half and pressurised an own goal equaliser with his very first involvement in the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was good to get on the pitch, I’m always trying to help the team whether it is 90 minutes or 10 minutes,\u201d Kane said. \u201cIt was important for us to get a goal back and a shame we couldn’t get a second.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were playing against a team that people expected us to beat five or six nil, but they did a job on Italy in the World Cup qualifiers to knock them out. We can be really proud of how the qualifying campaign has gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

DON’T MISS: <\/strong> Three England players poor in North Macedonia draw as Three Lions stung by VAR<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

He added that Lewis could be \u201cproud\u201d of his debut and predicted a return to the senior set-up in 2024 while his manager was more worried he hadn\u2019t realised it was his birthday. \u201cIs it his birthday tomorrow? I’m sure we’ve got him something,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was excellent, his composure with the ball, the fact that he did respond to that set-back with the penalty, which was really, really harsh. I know sometimes as a player you might feel you need to bounce back.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we thought there was no crime. We were pleased with everything he did. He is a super footballer.\u201d At least England’s unbeaten 2023 remained intact.<\/p>\n