If at first you do not succeed, try again. It has been a guiding principle for Harry Kane. Here, the England captain had numerous nearly‑but‑not‑quite moments and, if it were not him, it might have been possible to think it was going to be one of those nights.
This is Kane. And the red-letter occasion when he celebrated his 100th England cap was only going to end one way – him making it happen, getting through on the strength of his talent and remorselessness.
There were 57 minutes on the Wembley clock when Kane lashed high into the Finland net from just inside the area after a lovely first‑time pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold. It was Alexander-Arnold’s night, too; the weight and incision of his passing was sumptuous.
Kane did the rest. A touch with the outside of his right boot to cut inside Robert Ivanov; the hammer brought down. The cameras cut to Kane’s family in the stands and they would do so again before he was withdrawn to heartfelt applause.
Again, Alexander-Arnold was the architect, playing a beautiful return ball to the debutant, Noni Madueke, who had come on as a substitute. Madueke pulled back; Kane banged first time into the far corner. The captain had said on Monday that he wanted 100 England goals, which sounded like wishful thinking. It is never wise to question his targets. At the age of 31, he has 68.
The result gave the England interim manager, Lee Carsley, a second win in two games after the 2‑0 success against Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Saturday. For him, there was much to enjoy. Nothing more so than Kane.
It felt a little out of character to see Kane in sparkly gold boots but then again, the occasion had been built up pretty much exclusively around him. Why not adopt a few trimmings of the showman? He would collect more gold before kick-off – a special cap to commemorate his landmark, two other members of England’s 100 club, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole, doing the honours. And then it was out to mine even more.
There were empty seats inside Wembley but it was still a huge crowd and they had come to see a Kane goal. He was central to virtually everything in the first half and yet the breakthrough eluded him.
Anthony Gordon had his full‑back, Adam Ståhl, for pace and when he crossed early on, Kane opted to look square for Bukayo Saka instead of going for goal. Finland got bodies in front of Saka; they would put them on the line time and again.
Kane watched a volley deflect high, he extended Lukas Hradecky with a low shot when he might have done better and he had the ball in the net with a header from Saka’s cross only to be pulled up for offside. Then there were the times when Finland’s last defender stretched to make a crucial clearance as Kane looked to get in behind.
Control has been Carsley’s watchword; the biggest thing he has wanted to see. Fluidity is another and the movements he demands were on show from the outset, most notably Alexander-Arnold up and inside from right-back. Rico Lewis, on his first start, had plenty of licence from left-back.
Alexander-Arnold was in the mood to make something happen; he even popped up on the left at times. He produced the moment of the first half, a delicious reverse ball that released Saka. The winger’s shot took a deflection and Hradecky had to throw up a hand to paw clear. Alexander-Arnold blasted a low shot past the far post and was wide with a free-kick.
It was practically all England up to the interval and yet Finland did have their opportunities, none better than when Declan Rice was robbed by Rasmus Schüller and Topi Keskinen lashed high from the edge of the area. He ought to have played in Teemu Pukki.
Earlier, Lewis had to make a challenge to snuff out Pukki while Keskinen bent just wide, although the referee did whistle for an off‑the‑ball foul by Finland in the move.
Carsley gave a full debut to Angel Gomes and he saw plenty of the ball in a deep-lying central midfield role, moving it briskly and smartly. He also got his foot in to win it, sometimes high up. Carsley is right. Gomes is a different kind of midfield conductor, almost un-English-like.
The second half began as the first had left off; England pushing, Kane threatening. There was a free‑kick from him that Hradecky did well to save; then a scissors kick following a Finland defensive lapse. Same result. England had to remain patient because Rice and Gordon had gone close.
Finally, it happened, Carsley as jubilant as anyone when Kane showcased that lethal shooting technique, honed during those endless hours on the training ground. Ezri Konsa’s enforced withdrawal after he rolled his ankle was a worry but England pressed on, not wanting to settle for 1-0.
Madueke brought tricks and penetration; he worked Hradecky with a deflected effort while another substitute, Eberechi Eze, could not control another fabulous Alexander‑Arnold ball. The last word went to you-know-who.
