Tuesday evening's UEFA Nations League A3 clash between Germany and England was
not the greatest of spectacles for the more neutral fan.
There were not many great clear cut chances to get fans of either side excited, and with
Germany taking the lead in the 50th minute, a late 88th minute Harry Kane equaliser
from the penalty spot saw the game peter out at 1-1 and for fans who like a flutter you
would have got sensible odds on that score.
For Gareth Southgate's England side, the undoubted highpoint of the game was Kane's
leveller, not least because it took his international tally up to 50 goals and he becomes
only the second English man in history to breach the 50 mark, moving ahead of long
standing Manchester United legend and World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton into
second place, and now sitting only three goals behind now Derby County manager
Wayne Rooney - but it also meant after the weekend's shambles of a very lacklustre
defeat to Hungary, England now have their first point on the board and that will boost
morale in the camp ahead of tricky home encounters against Italy and Hungary once
more.
It does however leave
Southgate's squad bottom of the Group A3 table with two games
played.
Understandably on Tuesday evening though, most of the press and the commentary
was focused on 28-year-old Tottenham Hotspur Academy graduate Kane's individual
achievement, and former Spurs full back Kieran Trippier was quick to lavish the praise.
"Harry Kane stepped up as always. He is special. I used to play with him for club and
country. Fifty goals is incredible. He's a top pro. Great leader. It doesn't bother me where
I play on the pitch. I'll always be ready if I play or don't play, left-back or right-back. I'll
always be ready to do my country proud. Tonight is a positive result. The substitutes
made a huge impact. We'll review the game and look forward to the next one."
Speaking for himself, England captain
Kane reflected on the match to begin with.
"Really nice feeling to score. I had a couple of chances earlier, the first one was over the
bar and Manuel Neuer made a good save for the second. We kept going and played our
best football in the last half an hour. Good to get the goal and a shame not to nick it at
the end."
He added specifically in relation to finally racking up his 50th goal for his country.
"I love scoring goals, I have always loved it especially for my country. Whenever I can
help the team I am glad to do that. It is really important to show the mentality, 1-0 behind
we showed good character to get back into the game and get a result. We are playing
against a very good Germany side. We still have
important matches but the World Cup
will be here before we know it."
It is undoubtedly an incredible achievement and aged only 28, clearly Kane has
potentially got another good and solid five years left in him on an international career
front, so there will be absolutely no doubts whatsoever that he will surpass Rooney's
record and quite likely set the new record at a level of goal return that may in fact never
be beaten again in the future.