Kane extends England record in 2-0 win against Ukraine

LONDON, England (AP):

Presented with a golden boot before kickoff, Harry Kane’s golden touch continued for England yesterday as he struck a record-extending 55th goal for his country.

The Tottenham striker had already surpassed Wayne Rooney as the Three Lions’ outright leading scorer with his penalty in Thursday’s 2-1 win against Italy in Naples.

Back at Wembley, he got the chance to celebrate in front of his home fans with another goal in England’s 2-0 win against Ukraine in European Championship qualifying.

Kane struck in the 37th minute, converting Bukayo Saka’s cross to the far post.

Saka got on the scoresheet himself three minutes later when turning on the edge of the area and curling a shot into the top corner.

With that England effectively secured the victory and ensured a 100-per-cent start to qualifying for Euro 2024 in what has been an impressive response to the disappointment of being eliminated from last year’s World Cup at the quarterfinal stage.

Kane, whose penalty miss in the 2-1 loss to France proved so costly in Qatar, has also proven he is not suffering a hangover from one of the most painful moments of his career.

While he is still waiting to win his first trophy for club or country, the personal honours continue to come.

In February he overtook the late Jimmy Greaves as Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer. In international football, he equalled Rooney’s England total at the World Cup before setting a new record against Italy.

The English Football Associated marked that achievement before kick-off against Ukraine when its chair, Debbie Hewitt, presented Kane with a commemorative golden boot. For the match, Kane also wore Nike boots with a gold swoosh on the side.

His hunger to further extend his record was immediately evident as he went in search of more goals

There was an early penalty claim when Kane hit the ground in the box and then an unusual air shot when just a couple of metres out from goal.

He didn’t have to wait long, however, for his latest strike in England colours. Drifting to the far post, he was perfectly placed to turn in Saka’s cross for one of the easiest goals he is ever likely to score.

The same cannot be said of Saka’s effort. First the Arsenal forward showcased his control when spinning with the ball at his feet to leave Mykola Matviyenko trailing. Then he looked up before picking out the top corner of Anatoliy Trubin’s goal.

Ukraine never looked like finding a way back into the game after conceding twice in quick succession. Yet, they were cheered on throughout by an away contingent of about 4,200 fans.

Selected results: Slovenia 2 San Mario 0; Kazakhstan 3 Denmark 2; Liechtenstein 0 Iceland 7.