Harry Kane was left ‘alone and vulnerable’ before England World Cup penalty miss

Harry Kane was left ‘alone and vulnerable’ in the crucial 30 seconds before he missed his penalty against France, a leading football psychology professor has highlighted, because his usual ‘protector’ Jordan Henderson had been taken off.

England captain Kane skied his spot-kick in the 84th minute of Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final, condemning the Three Lions to a 2-1 defeat and elimination.

The Tottenham striker had earlier successfully converted a penalty to draw England level at 1-1 but couldn’t restore parity for a second time following the uncharacteristic miss.

Harry Kane was left without his usual penalty ‘protector’ Jordan Henderson for the second of his kicks against France on Saturday because the midfielder has been taken off

Having already scored one penalty in the match, Kane skied his crucial second as England lost

England manager Gareth Southgate comforts Kane after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to France

Geir Jordet, a professor at the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, has offered insight into why Kane missed in a fascinating series of tweets.

Jordet specialises in elite football performance and the psychological aspect of the game, with coping with extreme pressure, decision making and talent development among his interests. 

He pointed out that Liverpool midfielder Henderson is ‘world leading’ in standing with team-mates about to take a penalty, ensuring opponents cannot get close to ‘play mind games’ or put the kick taker off.

Henderson was on the pitch for the first penalty, taking the ball himself and then handing it over to Kane, before ensuring no French players could get near him for a ‘last word.’

Football psychologist Geir Jordet has explained in a Twitter thread what went wrong – he sets out to analyse how Harry Kane’s team-mate supported him – or otherwise 

Jordet points out that Jordan Henderson is ‘world leading’ when it comes to supporting team-mates who are about to step up and take a penalty kick

When Kane stepped up to take his first penalty earlier in the second-half, Henderson ‘escorted’ him to the penalty box and kept French players from getting close 

Kane made no mistake with his first spot-kick, restoring parity after Tchouameni’s opener

Jordet also pointed out that Henderson is alert to the possibility of any rebound at a penalty

However, Henderson was taken off five minutes before Kane’s second kick and so could not perform ‘his normal supportive role’, Jordet points out.

That left Kane surrounded by only French players for the first 30 seconds after the penalty was given by VAR following Theo Hernandez’s push on Mason Mount.

Mount and then Jude Bellingham realised this and stepped forward to accompany Kane, with Bellingham even ‘escorting’ Olivier Giroud out of the area.

But Jordet asks: ‘All good but was this reactive and too late? And did it even add noise rather than take it away?’ 

Henderson was taken off and replaced by Mason Mount in the 79th minute – after France scored again through Olivier Giroud to make it 2-1

It meant Henderson was not on hand to support Kane when the second penalty was awarded five minutes later, leaving him ‘vulnerable’ with French players in the vicinity 

Eventually, Jude Bellingham and Mason Mount stepped up but the damage was maybe done

After Kane missed the penalty, the first players to surround him were all in blue shirts 

While the French players wanted to celebrate with keeper Hugo Lloris, some clearly goad Kane

Bellingham, showing the maturity beyond his 19 years, was the first to comfort Kane after his penalty cleared the crossbar but the damage was already done.

Immediately after Kane’s miss, he was ‘swarmed’ by French players but nobody from the England team stepped forward until Bellingham did. 

Although the French players in the main ran to celebrate with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, pictured showed at least some appeared to goad Kane. 

According to Jordet, Bellingham showed himself as a ‘future leader’ for England by being the first to console Kane after his miss.

Kane was left alone in the French box until Bellingham stepped forward to console him

Jordet points out that the rest of England’s players ‘turned their back’ on Kane after the miss

At the final whistle, Henderson was the one who stuck close to Kane amid the disappointment

Jordet used a picture of Marcus Rashford’s lonely walk back after missing his penalty in last year’s European Championship final defeat to Italy for his final point

After the final whistle, with England eliminated, Kane’s team-mates did comfort him but Henderson made a special effort.

Henderson was ‘not saying or doing anything, just hanging out there – clearly on purpose’ in the words of Jordet.

Kane’s first penalty had seen him draw level with Wayne Rooney as England’s all-time record goalscorer on 53 but he will have to wait until March now to beat the total.