KEIR RADNEDGE at WEMBLEY: England captain Harry Kane hailed being able to mark the night of his 100th cap as among the most memorable of his career.
Kane struck twice in the second half to provide England with a 2-0 UEFA Nations League victory over Finland. He might have fancied a hat-trick chance but was substituted shortly before the end of a match which kicked off after he had been presented with a golden cap as both his young daughters acted as mascots.
He said: “I wanted to score a goal and make the night as memorable as possible so a couple of nice finishes to help the team was perfect for me and for the family. A hat-trick would have been nice – I had enough chances but no hard feelings [on being substituted].
“Today was right up there with my most memorable matches. It felt really special to have my family here. The girls are a little bit young to understand what’s going on but these were special moments on which we can look back, at having seen them on the pitch.
“I’ve had some good nights in an England shirt and this is right up with them all.”
Kane said he had specific targets in mind but remained confident that “in this team I’ll always get chances and score goals so who knows what I can reach? While I feel like I do I want to keep pushing the boundaries and come October I’ll be ready to go again.”
Manager Lee Carsley, now with a record of two wins in matches as interim successor to Gareth Southgate, praised Kane for both this match and his career.
Carsley said: “Harry took his goals really well, a big occasion for him, with the kids being here, and an emotional night. He fully deserves all the plaudits.
“What I have noticed this week is he is highly motivated to play for England and score goals and to have a centre forward like that, hopefully it continues.”
Carsley is still adjusting to the demands of the England challenge which continues next month for him at home to Greece and away to Finland.
He said: “I definitely don’t feel comfortable still. It’s been enjoyable so far but we have to had make sure every single day we are producing high standards.
“It’s good we got the results but more important we got the performances. You want to stand at the side of the pitch enjoying the game so scoring four goals in two goals is good. We are moving in the right direction.”
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