Harry Kane’s record-breaking goal sealed the victory for 10 men England against Italy 2-1 in the Euro 2024 Qualifier round.
England has failed to lift a major trophy under Gareth Southgate’s reign. However, the faith England’s board has invested in the manager is slowly being repaid with the recent results. Declan Rice broke the deadlock in the 13th minute of the game following a corner. The Italian defence started to fall apart as the ball swirled into the box. Harry Kane’s deflected shot fell straight into the path of Rice who made no mistake in finding the back of the net from a close range.
Harry Kane finally found his record-breaking moment in the final minutes of the first half. With ice in his veins and nerves of steel, Kane rose to the occasion and scored his 54th goal to become England’s all-time goal scorer. The Tottenham striker surpassed Wayne Rooney’s tally of 53 goals.
Italy tried to lay the groundwork for a comeback as the 23-year-old striker Mateo Retegui scored on his debut to reduce the deficit by half. The visitors managed to keep the scoreline intact for the rest of the period. Italy could have turned the game around in the 80th minute of the game as Luke Shaw was sent off after receiving two yellow cards within a span of two minutes.
However, in the end, the Italians didn’t have anything to show for all the possession they had in the dying moments of the game. With a score line of 2-1, the ten men Three Lions registered a victory in Italy after 61 years.
After the game the captain Harry Kane expressed his delight after becoming England’s all-time record goal scorer.
“It means everything. Once it hit the back of the net, there was so much emotion. Thanks to all the players, all the staff, my wife, my family, and everyone who has helped me get to this stage. It was a magical moment. It’s just a great night. We haven’t won in Italy for so long to score and win the game is special.” Kane said as quoted by England football. England’s manager Gareth Southgate was impressed with the performance of Kane against a resilient Italian side. “His overall performance tonight was outstanding. I thought he really dominated the centre-backs and his link play was really good,” Southgate said.