Harry Kane said his dream had come true after the striker became the country’s all-time record goalscorer in England’s 2-1 win against Italy in Euro 2024 qualifying, and went on to admit that he believes he can extend his scoring record over “many more years”.
The England captain banished the painful memories of his missed penalty during the World Cup quarter-final defeat to France by scoring the winner from the penalty spot as England secured a valuable victory away to Italy, their first away win in the country since 1961.
Kane’s second-half penalty was his 54th international goal and saw him move one clear of Wayne Rooney. “It was a really special night for me,” Kane said. “A really special night for the team — the first time England have won in Italy for a long time so to be a part of that is amazing. I am really proud.
“Thank you to everyone that has made this dream become a reality. It had to be a penalty. I had a feeling it would be. But I’ve prepared well for it. Thankfully I put it away.”
Kane was asked if his miss against France went through his mind before he converted his penalty. “Any penalty is nerve-racking,” the 29-year-old said. “I was really disappointed with how the World Cup ended. It feels like forever since I last put on an England shirt. I was itching to get out there. It was a great feeling to see that hit the back of the net.”
Kane’s milestone will be commemorated with a special presentation at Wembley on Sunday when England face Ukraine in their next Group C game. “I’m 29, I’m feeling fit, feeling strong, probably the best I’ve felt in my career so far,” Kane said on how far he can take the record.
“I hope I have many more years. Playing for England is my greatest feeling in football and I want to do it as long as possible, so for sure as a striker I want to score in every game and we’ll enjoy this one and get ready for Sunday to make sure we win that one. Hopefully many more but we will just have to wait and see.”
Gareth Southgate embraced Kane after full time. “His overall performance was outstanding,” England’s manager said. “To break the record in the manner he did given the recent history was a real indication of his strength of character.
“I couldn’t be happier for him and his family. They’re lovely people. He’s a brilliant professional and to do it as quickly as he has is an incredible achievement. The players gave him a brilliant reception afterwards and I think that was both in response to the record and what he’s had to recover from.”
'We showed there's two sides to our game'
Kane’s goal capped a positive night for England; Declan Rice’s opening goal came during a dominant first half by the visitors in which they were in full control against their Italian hosts.
Matteo Retegui scored on his debut early in the second half as Italy came on stronger after the break, and England were left to hang on to the three points — especially after Luke Shaw was sent off for two bookable offences in the space of 54 seconds.
“We showed two sides without a doubt,” said Southgate, who now has a half-century of victories as England manager. “We had great control from the back in the first half and whenever we broke through that first line of pressure we looked really dangerous. And, frankly, we should have had the game buried. It should have been 3-0 at half-time.
“If you start any half of football the way we started the second, you’re going to be in trouble and we concede a really poor goal. Several errors in the lead up to it, decisions. And then of course, the emotion of the whole evening changes. You are giving the crowd a lift, you are giving the opposition a lift. You have got to deal with momentum.
“We then have to deal with going down to 10 but actually I think we found a way we could be as compact as we could with extra energy to deal with that. So, yeah, in the end they can reference something they have had to grind and dig in away from home, which is hugely important and given our record here is a massive result. But equally, we would prefer more of the first half than the second!”
'We rolled up our sleeves after slow start'
Roberto Mancini, the Italy manager, admitted this was far from the ideal start to his team’s qualifying campaign and lamented the slow start his side made, allowing England two set-piece goals in the first half.
“We knew it was going to be a difficult game, then we conceded two goals from two set pieces,” he said. “We should have been more careful. We dominated in the second half and probably deserved a draw. We’re disappointed with the result but we still have a long way to go.
“In the second half we managed to press better, higher and I saw a great team again: this gives us hope. England are always dangerous from set pieces but we shouldn’t have conceded those two goals. We still managed to roll up our sleeves and play better. The road is a bit of an uphill climb now, but maybe it will finish more smoothly.”