![]() ![]() He has had Rooney in his sights ever since.Īs the chart below shows, Kane has reached the international feat emphatically, achieving the record in 39 fewer games than Rooney played, strengthening his claims to be recognised as England’s greatest striker. It is a milestone he has been on course for ever since his first England goal - against Lithuania as a 21-year-old this week in 2015, 79 seconds after being introduced off the bench by Roy Hodgson for his debut.įast forward to last June and the striker’s penalty against Germany in the Nations League took him past Charlton (49) into second place in the standings. An excellent penalty, he was never going to fail, and it was the 18th spot kick he has scored in an England shirt. Now, his penalty against Italy in Naples last night proved to be the winner of their first qualifying game on what they hope will be a journey to European Championship glory in Germany next year.Ĭalm and composed, he sent Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way, opting to aim for the right corner, the opposite of what he did when he missed against France in Qatar. His penalty miss was a major part of England’s latest World Cup dream ending. It was the perfect script the moment of redemption had arrived. One hundred and three days later, Kane placed the ball on the penalty spot in an England game again. It was a rare moment when one of the modern goalscoring greats failed to execute with his usual expertise, but what makes players great goalscorers is their ability to forget quickly and prepare for the next chance. A second English equaliser was moments away, and with it extra time… until he blazed it over the bar. ![]() As the Tottenham Hotspur striker placed the ball on the penalty spot for a second time late on in a World Cup quarter-final against France last December, it felt like a formality. It is a record that has fallen three months later than Kane and England fans hoped it would. As Rooney ended up with 53 for England, the Tottenham striker had 51 to go but as time went on, and the goals kept coming, it became clear it was a matter of when, not if, he’d surpass Rooney. Kane was only on three international goals then. During that speech, Rooney looked to the future and, staring across the room, he pointed at Kane, mentioning his name as one he hoped might break his record. ![]()
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