It is not the first time England have been accused of becoming too defensive in key games.

It was a similar situation under former manager Gareth Southgate when they went 1-0 in front against Italy in the Euro 2021 final before conceding an equaliser and losing on penalties.

Under Southgate, England also lost a World Cup semi-final to Croatia in 2018 and were beaten by Spain in the Euro 2024 final.

Opta stats show that, since 1998, England have been eliminated every time they have faced a top-10 ranked nation in the knockout stages of the World Cup.

“Going for glory doesn’t always mean you will get it,” added Bayern Munich forward Kane, who has scored six goals during the tournament.

“You have to fight for it, get knocked down, pick yourself up and go again and that’s what we will do, there’s no other way but to keep believing and keeping pushing.”

England started their World Cup campaign with a 4-2 win against Croatia after the game was tied at 2-2 at the break.

Following the game, Kane said the team’s improved second-half performance came after Tuchel had told them “if we lose, we lose in our way” in his half-time team talk.

England drew 0-0 with Ghana and beat Panama 2-0 to finish top of their group before coming from a goal down to beat DR Congo 2-1 in the last 32.

They went down to 10 men against Mexico but earned a hard-fought 3-2 win against the co-hosts before beating Norway 2-1 after extra-time prior to the game against Argentina.

The Three Lions now face a third-place play-off match against France, who were beaten by Spain in the other semi-final, on Saturday (22:00 BST).

England attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham, like Kane, scored six goals as he starred during the tournament.

He said he “was really struggling to find the right words” following England’s exit but shared a four-page poem titled ‘The Lions Way’, written by the team’s driver Michael Chandler, which “pretty much hits the nail on the head”.

The poem finished with the line ” a soul made strong, a soul assured” as Bellingham also called for “unity”, external following England’s defeat.

“Don’t let the unity and love we’ve seen in our country end with this campaign. When we’re together we can achieve big things,” the Real Madrid player said.

Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers set up Gordon for England’s opener against Argentina and said he was “devastated” following the defeat.

“We gave so much to reach this far and for it to end the way it did hurts,” he said., external

“We shared memories that will last for a lifetime and I lived a childhood dream to represent my country at a World Cup. We will be back, mark my words.”

Gordon, who has moved from Newcastle United to Barcelona, added: “I genuinely thought this was our time to win after waiting so many years but it wasn’t to be and it’s going to hurt for a while.

“I’ve never wanted to win so badly, not just for the trophy but for everything we built as a group and what it would have meant for England.”