He’s done it! Harry Kane overtakes Wayne Rooney to become England’s all-time leading goal scorer with penalty against Italy… as the Three Lions captain scores his 54th goal in his 81st game
Harry Kane has overtaken Wayne Rooney to become England’s all-time leading goal scorer after scoring the winning goal in the Three Lions’ 2-1 win over Italy.
Kane netted against Italy in the 44th minute on Thursday in Naples to overtake Rooney with 54 goals.
The 29-year-old had failed to score against Italy in four previous games against them, but broke that duck when he scored from the penalty spot just before half-time.
Kane’s 54th strike came in his 81st game for his country, with Rooney’s tally taking him 130 games.
Bobby Charlton, who Kane passed last year, is third, with 49 goals in 106 games.
Harry Kane became England’s all-time leading goal scorer with a strike against Italy
England captain Kane steps up to convert a penalty to double the lead against Italy
Kane sends Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way to become England’s all-time top scorer
Kane overtook former England captain Wayne Rooney, who he went level with in December
Kane overtakes England legends Rooney, Sir Bobby Charlton and Gary Lineker to become England’s all-time top goalscorer, as seen in our graphic created by Sofascore.com
‘I know he will have added motivation tomorrow night to come back and show everyone what he is about in an England shirt,’ manager Gareth Southgate had said to the BBC before the game.
‘We have seen in his performances for his club he has put it (World Cup disappointment) behind him.’
Kane since added: ‘I love playing for England so to have that opportunity and hopefully do it this week would be great, but as always the team comes first.’
The Spurs forward became his club’s all-time record goal scorer earlier this year when he passed Jimmy Greaves.
He’s now netted 271 goals for his club alongside his England total, while he also found the net during loan spells at the likes of Millwall and Leyton Orient and for England at youth level.
Kane made his England debut in 2015 as a substitute for Rooney against Lithuania
Kane’s first goal came 80 seconds into his debut, when he came on for Rooney in a Euro 2016 qualifying match against Lithuania.
His full debut came against Italy just days later, when he started alongside Rooney in a 1-1 draw.
He went onto become England captain ahead of the 2018 World Cup, where he won the Golden Boot for the tournament as the Three Lions finished fourth.
He moved level with Rooney when he scored from the penalty spot against France in the World Cup quarter-final, and had the chance to move outright ahead when England were awarded another penalty.
He won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when England finished fourth
The forward could have gone clear at the top of the scoring charts against France at the World Cup, but missed a penalty
He however infamously blazed the ball over the bar as England were knocked out to the eventual runners-up, and was made to wait to break the record.
Upon breaking the record, Kane told Channel 4: ‘It means everything. We were so excited to put the England shirt back on and get the campaign started and it had to be a penalty of course.
‘Once it hit the back of the net, so much emotion. So much thanks to the players, staff, fans, my wife and family… a magical moment. A great night to score and to win this game.
‘A big thanks to Wayne (for a congratulations message). I was on the pitch when he broke the record and I know what it meant to him. He said he’d be giving it back to me one day. A special guy and an England legend himself.’