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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."

• Mancini hopeful Italy can tackle 'uphill climb' to Euro 2024 following England defeat

  Roberto Mancini knows Italy face an "uphill climb" to qualify for Euro 2024 after they were beaten 2-1 by England but took heart from their second-half display.

  Declan Rice opened the scoring and Harry Kane become England's outright record goalscorer with his 54th strike for his country from the penalty spot just before half-time in Thursday's Group C opener at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

  Argentina-born Mateo Retegui marked his debut with a goal to get the European champions back in the game and there was further hope for Italy when Luke Shaw was sent off in the 80th minute.

  England held on to gain a measure of revenge for a defeat in the Euro 2020 final, securing their first away win over Italy since May 1961.

  Gareth Southgate's side ended Italy's run of 40 European Championship qualifying matches without defeat, leaving the holders with work to do in order to return to a major tournament in Germany next year after missing out on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

  Azzurri head coach Mancini said: "We knew it was going to be a difficult game, then we conceded two goals from two set-pieces; we should have been more careful. 

  "We dominated in the second half and probably deserved a draw. We're disappointed with the result but we still have a long way to go."

  He added: "In the second half we managed to press better, higher and I saw a great team again: this gives us hope. England are always dangerous from set-pieces, but we shouldn't have conceded those two goals.

  "We still managed to roll up our sleeves and play better. The road is a bit of an uphill climb now, but maybe it will finish more smoothly."

  Mancini was encouraged by the impact Retegui made in the second half in Naples after the striker became the first player to open his Italy account while playing for a club based outside of Europe.

  "Retegui has yet to get to know his team-mates and our movements as a team," Mancini said of the Tigre forward.

  "In the first half, he had difficulties against the English defenders who are very strong physically, but he did better in the second half. He's young and I think he just needs a little time."

• St Kitts & Nevis beat St Martin 3-1 in Nations League action in Anguilla

  St Kitts and Nevis defeated St Martin 3-1 in their Concacaf Nations League Group B encounter at the Raymond E. Guishard Technical Centre in Anguilla on Thursday.

  St Kitts, playing a 4-3-3 formation started with Julanni Archibald in goal with Lois Maynard at left back Raheem Hanley and Andre Burley at centre back while Gerard Williams marshalled the right side.

  Romaine Sawyers, Omari Sterling James and Yohannes Mitchum played in the middle of the park while Tyrese Shade, Keithroy Freeman and the SKNFA Premier League’s leading scorer Tiquanny Williams in the attacking positions front.

  St Martin, meanwhile, playing 3-5-2, started with Jordan Etienne in goal with Mickael Clio, Stephan Varsovie and Donovan Fils Aime protecting the goal.

  Across midfield were from left to right Belony Dumas, Kevin Zonzon, Ismael Petchy, Emmanuel Richardson and Randy Gentes.

  Pierre Bertrand Arne and Jeremy Peterson were the starting forwards.

  Williams gave the Sugar Boyz the lead in the 26^th minute. However, the lead did not last long as St Martin pulled level five minutes later through Pierre-Bertrand Arne.

  Sawyers sent St Kitts and Nevis into the break with a 2-1 lead when he scored in the 35^th minute.

  That score-line would hold until Harry Panayiotou, who came on as a substitute for James in the 77^th minute, secured all three points scoring the game winner a minute from full-time.

  The win takes St Kitts and Nevis to the top of Group B with seven points from their three games to date.

  Aruba lie second with four points while St Martin have two points from four games played.

  St Kitts return home to face Aruba on Monday.