Wayne Rooney sends message to Harry Kane after he broke England record

Wayne Rooney sent Harry Kane a congratulatory message, after the England striker broke Rooney's all time top scorer record for the national team.

It has been expected for sometime now, and England may have gone on to win the World Cup if he'd done it in December, but Kane became the country's all time top scorer on Thursday.

Having failed to dispatch a penalty with his usual assuredness. against France in the quarter finals in Qatar, there was no question against Italy.

After Giovanni di Lorenzo had handled the ball in the first half, Kane stepped up and blasted home his penalty, making it 2-0, following Declan Rice's opener.

Earlier in the season, he had broken the record to become Tottenham Hotspur's all time top scorer, in a game against Manchester City, and now he is England's.

He had been on the pitch when Rooney broke Bobby Charlton's record in 2015, also from the penalty spot, against Switzerland, and celebrated with the Manchester United legend.

On being passed by the Three Lions' current captain, in around 40 games fewer, the DC United manager took to social media to congratulate his former teammate.

"Congratulations to Harry Kane on becoming England’s all-time leading goalscorer," Rooney said on Instagram.

"I knew it wouldn’t take long but that was quick. Great man, unbelievable goal scorer and an England legend. Congrats Harry."

Unlike his predecessor, the Spurs forward has had decent success in tournaments, winning the Golden Boot in 2018, as Gareth Southgate took the men's side to their first World Cup semi-final since 2018.

He scored four times as the side reached the final of a major tournament for the first time since 1966, at Euro 2020, scoring the winner in the semi-finals.

His goal against their conquerors from Wembley nearly three years ago was much needed in the end, as Roberto Mancini's side attempted to stage a comeback.

Mateo Retegui, the 23-year-old Argentina born striker who has never played in Italy and only chose to play for the Europeans, rather than his country of birth, pulled one back on debut at the start of the second half.

The hosts were the better side throughout the latter 45 minutes and Luke Shaw's second yellow card in the 80th minute really threatened England's narrow lead.

However, Southgate's men held on until the end, meaning that Kane's record breaking night really was cause for celebration.