23 March 2023 , 22:10
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Tottenham striker Harry Kane now holds SIX records for England after becoming his country's leading scorer on Thursday night.
Kane, 29, scored a first-half penalty to help England beat European champions Italy 2-1 in Naples. The result means Gareth Southgate's side have made a perfect start to their qualifying campaign for Euro 2024, with a nightmare run of fixtures on the horizon.
Kane will forever remember Thursday night's game at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as the moment he scored his 54th goal for his country to overtake Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney. Yet the Spurs star actually has half-a-dozen England records.
As well as becoming England's record scorer, Kane has scored 46 goals as captain. A whopping 18 of those goals have come from the penalty spot, which is ironic considering he missed a penalty in England's quarter-final defeat to France at the World Cup in Qatar.
Kane has also scored the most goals for England in a single year - managing 16 during 2021 - and has hit 12 goals at major tournaments. Last but not least, Kane has scored 48 of his goals in competitive internationals - with just six of them coming in friendlies.
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"It means everything," Kane told Channel 4 at full-time. [I was] so excited to put the England shirt back on... It had to be a penalty of course!"
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Kane admitted he was overjoyed with emotion when the penalty hit the back of the net and thanked his team-mates, his family and the fans for their support. "Just a great night," he added before insisting England will keep "knocking on the door" to win trophies.
Kane was praised by Steven Gerrard after breaking the record. "It’s an incredible penalty, it’s precise, takes the side-netting off," said Gerrard. "He’s one of the best penalty-takers in the world, that’s why it was such a surprise what happened to him in the World Cup.
"But you’re talking about greatness, you’re talking about one of the best number nines in the world right now and that’s the reason why every transfer window he’s ahead in terms of all the talks because, you know, maybe it is time, maybe it is time for him to move on."
Gerrard went on to say, "Incredible moment, ironically coming in the form of a penalty but he deserves that. You can see in his pre-match interview he was so determined to make up for that penalty miss in the summer - sorry, the winter.
"But his all-round play has been fantastic and I’m so pleased for him - congratulations, and a special mention to Wayne Rooney because he’s a phenomenon as well."
Joe Cole added, "It’s redemption for him, you can’t help but admire him, like him, respect him, and he stands alone on top of that chart. The names that are underneath him - Wayne Rooney, Bobby Charlton - unbelievable names. It’s fantastic for him, what a moment."