Harry Kane was redeemed for the umpteenth time, justified once more in the face of growing concerns about his age and durability, by scoring two golden goals in golden boots on a night when he was handed a golden cap.
Kane became England’s eighth player to reach 100 appearances when he started the Nations League victory over Finland at Wembley Stadium, a milestone marked with a golden cap presentation by fellow centurions Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard before to the game.
The England captain was looking for a goal to lift the occasion, especially after some disappointing displays at the European Championship this summer and a sluggish performance against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday, which prompted some to call for his removal.
These calls were ridiculous. Kane has proven doubters wrong throughout a long international career studded with individual milestones, and he did it again on Tuesday, scoring two superb second-half goals to break Finland’s stubborn resistance.
They were his 67th and 68th goals for his country, which is a great feat by any standard. Kane announced on the eve of the game that he intended to add to his 100 caps by scoring 100 goals. He is such a consistent scorer for club and country that betting against him is insane.
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Harry Kane enjoyed reaching 100 England caps as his side cruised to victory against Finland
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The 31-year-old was presented with a golden cap by Frank Lampard prior to kick-off
He is not afraid to do things differently. An hour before kick-off, before Wembley Stadium said its final farewell to former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died last month, Carsley walked out onto the pitch alone and began carefully placing a row of footballs in a line on the turf.
He glanced at his watch every now and then, and for a brief moment, he stood with his arms folded across his chest, peering up at one of the enormous screens, which showed Jack Grealish scoring England’s second goal in the 2-0 victory over Ireland in Dublin.
Carsley stood there for a long, arms folded, peering around the stadium as if it were filling up, watching the goalkeepers warm up, still alone, waiting for the rest of his England teammates to emerge from the tunnel.
Following the presents to Kane, Carsley’s side moved forward deliberately and confidently, and while the Finns threatened sometimes, they were never going to ruin Kane’s night.
Kane might have earned his 100th cap in the opening four minutes when Gordon, who was a constant threat in the early going, twisted his full back one way and then the other and floated a cross to the back post where the England captain was unmarked.
For once, Kane appeared to be split between trying to score and heading the ball across the six-yard box to Bukayo Saka. He chose the selfless option, but the Finland defence intercepted his nod before it reached the Arsenal wide man.
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The visitors defended resolutely in the early going to keep the game level at the interval
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Lee Carsley’s side started to turn up the tempo after coming out for the second half
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Kane nearly scored with a stunning shot, but Lukas Hradecky made an outstanding save.
Kane did get a shot off midway through the half, but it was expertly saved by Finland’s Lukas Hradecky. When the ball broke loose, Finland broke immediately, with Topi Keskinen looping a shot just wide.
It was an unusual push forward by England’s opponents. It was nearly the only time they broke out of their own half, and except from an offside header by Kane, they thwarted Carsley’s side with their massed defenders.
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The Bayern Munich star finally got his goal on 56 minutes, striking home from inside the box
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He then added a second to his tally after a deft delivery from debutant Noni Madueke
