England's Harry Kane was gutted after his side conceded two late goals to lose to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, and the captain said they tried to hold on after going ahead but it was just not enough.
England took the lead through Anthony Gordon's 55th-minute goal, but came under enormous pressure as Argentina drove forward. Enzo Fernandez netted the equaliser and Lautaro Martinez scored the winner in added time.
"We played a good game for the large majority of it. Once we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try and hold on," Kane told the BBC.
"At this level, it's not enough, so just gutted, gutted because we've worked so hard to be here and the lads have given every last bit of running, sweat, blood, tears, whatever it is.
"After the goal, whether it was them putting more men forward or us just not being able to match them man for man, it just was wave after wave and we were trying to hold on as we were putting blocks in.
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"But in the end, it wasn't enough."
England have not reached a World Cup final since winning the trophy in 1966, and Thomas Tuchel's side came so close but ultimately were left with the same old sinking feeling.
"The boys are always ready for any moment in the game. When we went ahead, the messaging was to go again and get another goal," Kane said.
"Then obviously once they scored their two goals, it was to try and find something, but we couldn't quite get the momentum back in the game.
"We had a lot of good moments in this tournament. A lot of good games, another semi-final. We talk about knocking on the door. We're close, we just need to find that missing piece in the final stage of the tournament.
"Just gutted for the boys, gutted for everyone, the team, the staff, the fans."
