David Beckham has become the latest high-profile name to speak out in defence of England captain Harry Kane after the Three Lions star missed a late penalty in the 2-1 defeat by France on Sunday night.
Kane, who cancelled out Aurelien Tchouameni's opening strike from the spot earlier in the second half, couldn't hit the target with his 84th-minute spot kick, which was awarded just minutes after Olivier Giroud had restored France's lead with a thumping header.
England were unable to breach France's defence for a second time in the closing stages of the match and were dumped out of the World Cup by the reigning champions, who are still firmly on course to defend their crown and claim a third title in Qatar.
Kane was visibly distraught at the final whistle but a whole host of big names, including former England strikers Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer, have spoken out in support of the Tottenham ace.
And now Beckham, who featured in five major tournaments for England and was seen with his head in his hands in Doha after the final whistle, hailed Kane as a "true leader" in a touching show of support on social media.
In an Instagram post, Beckham said: "Our boys will continue to grow.. It’s always the worst feeling waking up after being knocked out of a tournament but our players , Gareth the staff and all our fans can be proud of this team… It takes a true leader to step up in these moments and that’s what our captain did, the next time it will be a different ending we walk away with our heads held high @england."
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While a sombre Kane took "responsibility" for England's World Cup exit after the game, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate made similar comments to Beckham in the immediate aftermath of the match.
"For me, we win and lose as a team. We conceded two and missed a few chances," Southgate told ITV when quizzed on Kane's late miss. Harry’s been incredible for us, so reliable in those situations. We wouldn’t be here but for the number of goals he’s scored for us.
"We were here to win the tournament. We had the belief we could and with the performance tonight against the reigning champions we’ve got a team that could have done it. At key moments when you play in a high-level game there will be chances created. In most of the big moments we were in the right place. We had more shots on goal, their keeper made a couple of good saves but it’s a game of fine margins."
