Joe Root and other England players get emotional and teary-eyed after elimination from 2025 Champions Trophy following loss vs Afghanistan [Watch]

England players were dejected after getting eliminated from the 2025 Champions Trophy on Wednesday (February 26). Afghanistan defeated the English team by eight runs in the Group B match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Afghanistan batted first after winning the toss and scored 325/7 in 50 overs, courtesy of a marathon century from opener Ibrahim Zadran (177). Joe Root (120) then fought valiantly for England in the steep chase and kept them alive in the hunt until his departure in the 46th over.

Afghan pacer Azmatullah Omarzai (5/58) held his nerve in a pressure situation and picked up wickets at crucial junctures in the final few overs to close the game for his side.

The English players were visibly dejected after suffering the loss as it ended their journey in the Champions Trophy. You can watch the dejected reactions of England players like Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Ben Duckett, and others in the below post:

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"Another fantastic game of cricket but gutted to come out on the wrong side"- England captain Jos Buttler after loss in 2025 CT clash vs Afghanistan

At the post-match presentation, England skipper Jos Buttler reflected on the loss and said:

"Obviously really disappointing. Thought we had our chances. Another fantastic game of cricket but gutted to come out on the wrong side. Joe Root played an unbelievable innings. We wanted one of the top six batters to stay with him longer and take it deeper. Thought he and Overton put in a good partnership. Looked good to get over the line at the end but we lost too many wickets. They got away from us there in the last ten overs."

Buttler added:

"But if we look back and reflect, 113 off the last ten pushed them up to a score which was a very good score on that pitch. (On Root) He's been a brilliant player in all formats. Obviously his ODI record is outstanding. He played an unbelievable innings tonight, showed a lot of character to handle pressure. As I said, one of us in the top six could have stayed with him and got it done."

The English team will face South Africa in their final match of the 2025 Champions Trophy on Saturday (March 1) in Karachi.