Harry Kane needn’t have done much in this game for the night to still have been all about him, but England’s all-time record goalscorer saved perhaps his finest goal for his country for his 100th cap.
Asked this week which is his favourite goal among the 66 (now 68) he had scored for his country, the answer — his only goal from long range, against Poland in 2021 — was a reminder that Kane is a natural finisher in the purest sense, more clinical than spectacular.
What could be more fitting, then, than the way it all panned out on Tuesday night? The evening began with fellow centurions Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole presenting him with a commemorative 100th cap, and ended with him scoring twice — including his finest strike for his country yet. The eventual 2-0 win over Finland was richly deserved and made it six points from six in the Nations League.
He spoke this week of receiving “the brunt” of the nation’s ire during England’s plodding route to the final of the European Championships, criticised for his own performances as much as for England’s collective displays.
But it says something of his calibre that he still ended up as the tournament’s joint top scorer, and for England there is no doubt that he remains their greatest goal threat, aged 31, and will go down as one of the all-time greats.
A timely enough reminder of that here at Wembley, where he put a narrowly offside disallowed first-half goal behind him by sealing all three points for Lee Carsley’s side with two strikes after the interval.
The first saw him receive a typically incisive pass from Alexander-Arnold, shift the ball nicely to evade the challenge of Robert Ivanov, and then hammer past goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky via the crossbar. Plenty will be more memorable, but it is difficult to think of a more technically accomplished goal he has scored for his country.
England — like in their 2-0 win in Ireland on Saturday — were predictably dominant, hoovering up the ball and rarely letting Finland have a sniff.
It did take quite some time for them to break down a disciplined and organised defence, though, and that was despite Alexander-Arnold’s majestic performance, featuring line-breaking pass after line-breaking pass.
The night belonged, of course, to Kane, whose second goal was again borne from the boot of Alexander-Arnold and saw substitute and debutant Noni Madueke receive, slide the ball into the Bayern Munich striker, and Kane smashed home once more.
Others impressed. Rico Lewis and Angel Gomes earned their second caps — Gomes his first start — and defied their international inexperience with assured displays, never standing still, always offering themselves, and keeping England ticking over. Just as Alexander-Arnold ventured into midfield, so too did Lewis. Could the left-back shirt soon be his once and for all?
And what of the man watching on from his dugout? Well, the permanent gig is surely Lee Carsley’s to lose. He must, and surely will, ensure England win this group and return to the top tier of the Nations League. So far so good.
For Kane, even better than that. The night he had dreamt of.
