50 NOT OUT
Half-century for Harry. . . now for Rooney’s England record
HARRY KANE reached his half-century of international goals last night to rescue England from defeat in Germany. The captain’s late penalty moved him ahead of Bobby Charlton to second in the all-time list of England goalscorers — just three behind Wayne Rooney. Jonas Hofmann fired the hosts ahead
just after half-time, but Kane fired past Manuel Neuer after he was fouled in the box by Nico Schlotterbeck. ‘I love scoring goals. I have always loved it — especially for my country,’ said Kane. ‘Whenever I can help the team I am glad to do that. It’s a really nice feeling. ‘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. It was good to get the goal and a shame not to nick it at the end.’ On his team’s comeback, Kane added: ‘It is really important to show the mentality. At 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.’ After the game, Gareth Southgate heaped praise on his star forward following his 50th goal for England. ‘I think, rightly, the fact he’s got 50 goals means he will be the centre part of the story,’ said the manager. ‘But his all-round game, the way he led the line, the way he competed, the way he pressed was exceptional. ‘His quality to drop deep, and I know people say he drops too deep, but you need a player who can unlock the game.’ Team-mate Kieran Trippier added: ‘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 and a great leader.’ On his team’s reaction to falling behind, Southgate added: ‘The comeback will fill the squad with belief, that’s what we’ve said. We felt like we had to raise the bar, we felt the game was there for us. To respond in the way they did was fantastic. ‘It’s an important sign for them as much anything. It is for everyone watching too — but (even more) when you’re in the team. ‘This group has seven or eight that got to a World Cup semifinal and that’s why those players are so important to us. They put their bodies on the line for each other and you need to do that to get a result. ‘This game allows us to learn what we have in this team. These matches are, yes wanting to win, but also learning and improving as a team. ‘A top team doesn’t lose two on the bounce and they responded to that in the right way.’