Featured Image Credit: Channel 4/Alamy
Topics: England, Football, Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney, Italy, Tottenham Hotspur
Ryan Sidle
Topics: England, Football, Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney, Italy, Tottenham Hotspur
Harry Kane broke Wayne Rooney's England record, as the country's all time top goalscorer, as he netted his 54th goal for the national team against Italy.
The England captain blasted home a penalty in the first half of the game, after Giovanni di Lorenzo was adjudged to have handled the ball.
He has reached the magic number of 54 in just 81 games for the national team, just under 40 games less than Rooney played in his career.
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Kane made his debut for England in 2015, earning his first cap in a Euro 2016 qualifying match against Lithuania, after being called up by Roy Hodgson.
In a twist of irony, the Tottenham Hotspur forward replaced Rooney as a substitute in that game, scoring just 80 seconds after coming on to kick off his pursuit of the Manchester United legend.
He made his first start for the side upfront along with Rooney in the following match, against Italy, although he didn't score in the 1-1 draw.
Kane's first tournament was in France for the Euros in 2016 but he surprisingly failed to find the back of the goal, as Hodgson's side went out at the last 16 stage against Iceland.
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In Russia two years later he certainly redeemed himself on that front, winning the Golden Boot at the World Cup, and captaining the side.
Gareth Southgate's team made the semi-finals for the first time since 1990, though they were beaten by Croatia in the last four.
Ahead of Euro 2020 he became the first Englishman to score a goal in every game of a qualifying competition, as the national side reached the tournament proper once again.
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He took time to get going during the finals but found form in the knockouts, scoring against Germany, twice against Ukraine and the winner in the semi final against Denmark, scoring a rebound from his saved penalty.
In December's World Cup he scored twice to level up Rooney's record, and had the perfect chance to break it in the quarter finals.
Unfortunately he missed a penalty against France, sending Southgate's side home, and could have been defined by that miss.
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However, he has bounced back in perfect fashion in the first game since the tournament in Qatar, putting away his penalty against Italy, earlier this season he'd broken the record at Tottenham Hotspur, to become the club's all time top goalscorer.