After a closely contested, hard-fought game, Mark Sampson watched his team’s World Cup title hopes go up in smoke as England fell to Japan in the semifinal on a Laura Bassett own goal.

While Sampson absolutely could not believe his luck–and at times it was visible as he took pauses to search for words– Sampson had nothing but praise for Bassett and his team.

“[Bassett]’s been courageous, strong…she kept this group together. She didn’t deserve that. But I think she’ll be looked upon as a hero. An absolute hero.”

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