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• Southgate lauds 'extraordinary' England record-breaker Kane

  Gareth Southgate felt the "extraordinary" Harry Kane showed his "mental strength" by scoring a record-breaking goal in England's 2-1 Euro 2024 qualifying win against Italy.

  The Three Lions gained a measure of revenge for their loss to the Azzurri in the final of the last European Championship at Wembley with a victory in their Group C opener at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

  Declan Rice opened the scoring and Kane become England's outright leading goalscorer with a penalty at the end of the first half in Naples on Thursday.

  A debut goal for the Argentina-born Mateo Retegui in the second half and Luke Shaw's late red card could not prevent England from securing a first away win over Italy since May 1961.

  It was a special night for Kane, who broke a record he shared with Wayne Rooney by scoring his 54th goal for England.

  A commanding first-half display enabled Southgate to become the third England manager to celebrate 50 victories in charge of the national team after Alf Ramsey (69) and Walter Winterbottom (78).

  Southgate hailed his captain, who stepped up to make history in the Three Lions' first game since he crucially missed a spot-kick in a World Cup quarter-final defeat to France in December.

  He said: "Kane was extraordinary. Breaking the record in these conditions demonstrates all the mental strength he has.

  "It's truly an exceptional achievement; the players cheered for him and this is a reaction both to the record and what he had to go through in Qatar."

  England were a cut above Italy in the first half, but it was a different story after the break and Southgate felt they made life difficult for themselves following such an impressive start.

  "We had an exceptional first half, while it was a very tough second half," he said. "We showed two different faces; we controlled the game very well in the first half as soon as we escaped the first line of pressing and at the interval it might have been 3-0.

  "At the beginning of the second half we made some wrong decisions and the momentum changed."

• Ronaldo's commitment and experience crucial for Portugal's new cycle – Martinez

  Roberto Martinez believes Cristiano Ronaldo's experience and commitment is crucial to Portugal's new cycle.

  Ronaldo became the most-capped men's player of all time when he took to the field in Lisbon on Thursday for his 197th Portugal appearance.

  The 38-year-old marked the occasion with two goals, scoring from the penalty spot before lashing in a free-kick to complete a 4-0 rout over Liechtenstein in Euro 2024 qualifying Group J.

  Joao Cancelo put Portugal ahead early on and Bernardo Silva netted shortly after half-time, with Martinez's tenure getting off to the simplest of starts.

  Ronaldo was dropped to the bench by previous coach Fernando Santos for Portugal's World Cup knock-out games, but Martinez wanted to get the five-time Ballon d'Or winner into his starting XI.

  "It's a new cycle," Martinez told Portuguese media outlets.

  "It's important for a player to show commitment and [to know] that we can use his experience, and Cristiano shows that."

  Posting on social media, Ronaldo expressed his pride at sending yet another record tumbling.

  "Such good feelings to play and score again for our national team, in a special stadium for me," Ronaldo wrote. "Proud to be the [most-capped] international player ever."

  Reflecting on his team's dominant display, in which Portugal had 35 attempts and accumulated an expected goals (xG) of 3.9 to Liechtenstein's 0.03, Martinez said: "We have to enjoy situations like this.

  "I realised that when you play for Portugal it's special. The players follow that line, it was a step forward to prepare for the next game.

  "Of course it's an opportunity for me to get to know the players, the interaction, see how to take better advantage of the qualities. But I'm left with the attitude and willingness to work. I'm very proud of the result."

  Portugal continue their qualification campaign against Luxembourg on Sunday.

• Italy 1-2 England: Kane makes history as Three Lions gain revenge over Azzurri

  Harry Kane become England's outright record goalscorer as the Three Lions secured a first away win over Italy in almost 62 years with a 2-1 Euro 2024 qualifying victory.

  In a repeat of a Euro 2020 final that was won by the Azzurri, Gareth Southgate's side gained a measure of revenge in their Group C opener at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Thursday.

  Declan Rice opened the scoring and Kane deservedly doubled England's lead with his 54th goal for his country from the penalty spot, breaking the record he shared with Wayne Rooney.

  The Argentina-born Mateo Retegui reduced the deficit with a debut strike, but Italy suffered their first home loss to England since June 1961 and saw a run of 40 European Championship qualifying matches without defeat come to a halt in Naples despite Luke Shaw's red card in the 80th minute. 

  There was a touching pre-match tribute to the late Gianluca Vialli before England quickly stamped their authority on the game, the alert Rice firing home left-footed from inside the box 13 minutes in after Kane's shot was blocked.

  England were dominant and Kane made history to double their lead late in the first half, calmly sending Donnarumma the wrong way from the spot following a VAR check for a Giovanni Di Lorenzo handball.

  Jack Grealish sliced wide when he ought to have added a third goal moments later at the end of another blistering Three Lions attack.

  Italy looked like a different side after the break and Retegui controlled a clever reverse pass from Lorenzo Pellegrini before beating Jordan Pickford with a clinical right-foot finish 11 minutes into the second half.

  Roberto Mancini's side continued to put England under pressure and Shaw was given his marching orders for upending Retegui just a couple of minutes after he had been booked for time-wasting.

  Italy were unable to salvage a point, though, as England dug in to see out a hard-earned victory in a great start to their qualifying campaign.