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."
Liverpool agree compensation deal for Slot
Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle over a compensation deal for Arne Slot to become the Reds’ manager next season, according to widespread Dutch media reports.
The Dutchman is reportedly poised to take over from Jurgen Klopp, who announced in January that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title last season after taking over the club in 2021.
It is believed that he topped the list of Liverpool’s favoured candidates due to his attacking playing style and ability to develop players.
Former Liverpool midfielder, Xabi Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, and Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim were also reported contenders to take over from Klopp.
Slot had already confirmed his interest in managing in the Premier League, both earlier this week and previously when he was linked to Tottenham in 2023.
QPR 4-0 Leeds United: Shock loss for Farke's men seals Leicester's promotion
QPR thrashed Leeds United 4-0 in the Championship on Friday, ensuring Leicester City booked their promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Ilias Chair was the star for the Hoops as he scored the opener and assisted two more goals to ensure QPR will stay in the Championship for another season.
Lucas Andersen, Lyndon Dykes and Sam Field also got their names on the scoresheet in an emphatic win for Marti Cifuentes' side.
Leeds' heaviest defeat of the season was a huge blow in the race for an automatic promotion spot, with Ipswich Town just one point behind them in third place with two games in hand going into their away clash against Hull City on Saturday.
Real Sociedad 0-1 Real Madrid: Los Blancos edge closer to LaLiga title with win
Arda Guler scored in the first half to earn a second-string Real Madrid side a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad on Friday, moving the LaLiga leaders a step closer to a record-extending 36th Spanish title.
With five games remaining, Madrid climbed to 84 points and extended their lead to 14 points over second-placed Barcelona, who have a game in hand and host Valencia on Monday.
Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti rested several key players ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich, but his side did just enough to secure the three points.
The winner came from 19-year-old Turkish midfielder Guler, making his first start for Madrid after signing from Fenerbahce, when he turned home Dani Carvajal's cross in the 29th minute.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
