FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Petr David Josek is an award-winning AP staff photojournalist based in Prague, the Czech Republic. This is Josek’s fourth World Cup, and he has also shot five Summer Olympics and three Winter Olympics.
Why this photo?
It was late in a 0-0 game between England and Ghana and any scoring chance could have decided the match. The reaction of England’s Harry Kane illustrates how intense the moment was and how much players valued any chance to score. Kane also is one of the main stars of the 2026 World Cup, so any goal he scores evokes conversations about other icons — Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Cristiano Ronaldo.
How I made this photo
I was shooting Kane’s scoring chance on a 70-200 but when I saw him reacting I decided to quickly switch to 400 mm to get a tight frame of him to capture his emotions.
Why it works
Kane missed what was a great chance to score and his reaction was quite telling about how he felt about the lost opportunity. The photo also illustrates the England squad’s overall perspective of the match, which was they let several chances to win slip away.
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