Harry Kane’s interview following England’s victory over Mexico went viral, not so much because of what the captain of the “Three Lions” said, but for the great difficulty he had trying to speak.

The English forward appeared particularly hoarse in front of the BBC camera, his voice barely coming out. Reporter Kelly Sommers, who conducted the interview, revealed the backstory behind this awkward yet particularly funny moment.

As she explained, she had spoken with Kane just a few minutes earlier and hadn’t realized he was having such a severe problem with his voice.

“I’ve interviewed Harry several times, and since his teammate was injured, I didn’t want to catch him off guard. I told him I’d have to ask him about Jordan, and he replied, ‘Yeah, that’s fine, I don’t know much about it.’ I didn’t notice that his voice had gone hoarse,” she said initially.

The BBC reporter admitted that both she and the soccer player were taken by surprise as soon as the television interview began.

“There’s obviously a difference between talking to someone in person and hearing their voice in a TV interview. I think he was just as surprised as I was when he started speaking and realized he couldn’t,” she added.

Somers faced criticism for not interrupting the interview, despite the England captain’s obvious difficulty. She explained, however, that she believed his voice would return as the questions continued.

“Some people asked me why I didn’t stop, since the poor guy couldn’t speak. But I had spoken to him a few minutes earlier, and he was able to speak. I had also seen him talking to the press officer,” she emphasized.

“Sometimes, when you lose your voice, you haven’t lost it completely. You can clear your throat and get it back. Every time I asked a question, I thought, ‘Now it’ll come back.’ But that never happened,” he added.

Despite his embarrassment, Kane kept his composure and finished the interview as usual.

“He’s very good at staying calm. I don’t know if he was embarrassed. I think he felt awkward, but he handled it in the best possible way,” the BBC reporter concluded.

*photo source: AP