Harry Kane has hailed his England team-mates for ‘keeping calm’ to secure their qualification for the 2024 Euro Championships as he became the nation’s top goalscorer at Wembley.
The Three Lions needed just a point to secure qualification against the Azzurri, given that Group C rivals Italy and Ukraine still had to face each other again in qualifying.
The Bayern Munich striker and Marcus Rashford were both on target as Gareth Southgate‘s side put in a dominant display to come from behind against the Euro 2020 winners.
Kane’s two goals also saw him break Bobby Charlton’s 1970 record for the most goals scored at Wembley.
‘It’s never as easy as it looks, we have had a really tough group this time but credit to the lads, some of the results we’ve had, performances and we topped it off here today,’ he told Channel 4.
Kane’s two goals saw him break Bobby Charlton’s record for the most goals scored at Wembley
The Bayern Munich striker hailed his team-mates for ‘staying calm’ during the crucial clash
‘We went 1-0 down, we stayed calm and we stayed steady, we knew we had enough to get the win and we did it.
‘It has been a tough journey and to qualify with two games to go is credit to everyone involved.
‘I love it, it’s our home, we’ve made it a real fortress over the years and with a full house here, the fans are loving it, we wanted to repay them with good victories and good performances and we did that today,’ he added.
On his second goal, he also said: ‘There were a few at the end chasing lost balls and helping the team get up the pitch.
Kane and Marcus Rashford were on target for the Three Lions as they defeated Italy 3-1
‘I showed a bit of pace, which is not normally my strength. It was nice to finish it off and it killed the game.’
This was the 11th time that Kane has scored a brace for England, with only Nat Lofthouse (12) netting two or more goals in a game on more occasions for the national side.
With their place in Euro 2024 now confirmed, the Three Lions will be hoping to build on their recent performances at tournaments after reaching the semi-final at the 2018 World Cup, the final at Euro 2020 and the quarter-final at the 2022 World Cup before a narrow defeat to France.
Before Tuesday’s clash, England had beaten Italy, Ukraine, Malta and North Macedonia before drawing the return fixture against Ukraine last month.
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