Gareth Southgate said England's foremost focus will be getting out of their World Cup group after two of their three opponents were confirmed in Friday's draw.

England, who have reached one major semi-final and one final under Southgate, will open their campaign with a first-ever meeting against Iran on the tournament's opening day on November 21.

They will then face the United States in a repeat of their opening game at the 2010 World Cup, while their final group match could see them face a home nations rival in Wales or Scotland, who will compete with Ukraine for Europe's final qualification place in a play-off that has been delayed due to Ukraine's ongoing conflict with Russia.

On paper, Group B looks set to present a smooth passage to the knockout stages for England but Southgate, who led the Three Lions to a first World Cup semi-final since 1990 four years ago, is not looking any further ahead than the group stages.

"The first two teams we've not played for quite a while," Southgate told BBC Sport. "The third is a total unknown but throws up a possible British derby. We know what they're all about, we've had plenty of them!

"For us, we're in on day one so it's quite clear now what our program looks like, with the end of the Premier League season and getting out here as quickly as possible."

Asked if that knowledge gave England more time to prepare for possible knockout games, Southgate responded: "It does, but we've got to get out of the group.

"What we've done well is approach these tournaments by looking at the group. 

"The first objective is to get out of the group, regardless of the opposition, and then you build from there.

"When you're seeded, you get the advantage of missing out on those big six or seven teams. For most of the first seeds, they'll be pleased with the group they get.

"There's obviously some really high ranked teams in Pot Two, and the US in particular, I know Gregg Berhalter quite well, we've met a couple of times and had long chats about things. 

"They've got some very good players and we know what they could be capable of as a nation. That one, in particular, is an intriguing one."

Furthermore, being drawn into a World Cup group with the United States for a third occasion represents the first time that England have been in the same group as one particular nation at three separate editions of the tournament.

England captain Harry Kane, meanwhile, was glad to see that the Three Lions will open their campaign on the first day of the tournament.

"Always exciting to see who we get in the group!" Kane tweeted. "Playing on the opening day will be incredible as well."

The decision to host the World Cup in Qatar has faced strong opposition from many quarters.

Southgate, who made his opposition to any boycott of the tournament clear during the recent international break, expressed his desire for the World Cup to drive substantive change in the Gulf state.

"We'll continue to speak to people here," he added. "We've got to build relationships here to be able to highlight any change that we'd like to make. 

"It's important to do that in the right way. Today my focus is just on the draw and working out what that all means really."

Harry Kane has been named March's Premier League Player of the Month, winning the award for a joint-record seventh time in his career.

The England captain's award takes him level with former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, the only other man to have won it on seven occasions, and represents his first monthly prize since December 2017.

Tottenham's talisman scored four goals in March, netting a brace in a 5-0 home thrashing of Everton, as well as getting on the scoresheet in an away win over Brighton and Hove Albion and in Spurs' 3-2 defeat at Manchester United.

Kane ended the month's league action by recording two assists for Son Heung-min as Antonio Conte's side recorded a crucial London derby victory over West Ham, taking him to 17 league goal involvements this season (12 goals and five assists).

His fruitful month also saw him move level with Bobby Charlton's tally of 49 England goals, just four goals shy of Wayne Rooney's Three Lions record of 53 strikes, with a penalty against Switzerland during the international break. 

After teeing him up twice against the Hammers, Kane has provided 20 Premier League assists for Son in the Premier League, accounting for over half of the forward's 39 assists in the competition to date. 

Only Frank Lampard (who assisted Didier Drogba 24 times) and David Silva (21 assists for Aguero) have teed up one team-mate more often in Premier League history.

The Spurs duo have also linked up for a total of 39 Premier League goals, three clear of the previous record set by Lampard and Drogba, which they surpassed in February's 4-0 thrashing of Leeds United.

Spurs' push for Champions League qualification will resume on Sunday when they host Newcastle United, against whom Kane has seven goal involvements (five goals, two assists) in his last four league appearances.

Everton have endured a nightmarish season and currently find themselves in the Premier League's relegation scramble.

The Toffees are sitting only three points above the relegation zone, despite two games in hand on 18th-placed Watford.

Just as pertinent is their financial situation, which will reportedly force them into having to sell one of their most valuable assets.

TOP STORY – EVERTON TO CHOOSE BETWEEN RICHARLISON AND CALVERT-LEWIN

The Sun is reporting Richarlison or Dominic Calvert-Lewin will have to leave Everton in order for the club to balance their books.

Their latest figures revealed a £121million loss in the last financial year, and one of the two strikers will now have to be sold.

Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin are Everton's two highest goal scorers still at the club since the latter arrived in 2016. The Brazilian has scored 47 in 142 appearances in all competitions, while the former Sheffield United man has tallied 55 in 180 games.

Richarlison is a reported target for Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid, with Arsenal apparently keeping a close eye on Calvert-Lewin's situation.

ROUND-UP

– England midfielder Kalvin Phillips has told Leeds United he wants to sign a new contract, potentially warding off interest from the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle, per The Mirror.

– According to ESPN, Anthony Martial could be used to create a package deal from Manchester United for Tottenham's Harry Kane .

– Le Parisien report N'Golo Kante turned down an offer to leave Chelsea for Paris Saint-Germain in January.

– Milan have cooled on Real Madrid's Marco Asensio due to the 26-year-old's wage demands, as reported by Tuttosport.

Harry Kane has launched a staunch defence of under-fire England team-mate Harry Maguire after the defender was jeered by fans, describing the reception as "just not right".

Manchester United captain Maguire started Tuesday's 3-0 win over Ivory Coast at Wembley, where goals from Ollie Watkins, Raheem Sterling and Tyrone Mings sealed victory for the hosts.

Despite having been a key figure under Gareth Southgate, even earning a spot in the UEFA Team of the Tournament for his performances at Euro 2020, Maguire has become a target for the boo boys in club and international colours.

Southgate labelled the reaction "an absolute joke", and Kane took to Twitter on Wednesday to echo those sentiments, adding that Maguire had the full backing of his international team-mates.

"We’ve worked hard to rebuild our connection with England fans in the last few years so to hear Harry Maguire booed at Wembley before kick-off was just not right," the Tottenham striker tweeted.

"The fact that he's been brilliant on the pitch and given us all so many great memories makes it even harder to understand. He doesn't deserve that reception.

"He's got full support in the changing room and should have the same from every England fan."

Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson also offered his support to Maguire via social media.

"I can't get my head around what happened at Wembley tonight," he wrote on Twitter.

"Harry Maguire has been a colossus for England. Without him, the progress made at the last two tournaments would not have been possible.​

"To be booed at his home stadium, for no reason? What have we become? What happened tonight was just wrong. As someone who wants to win with England, I feel fortunate to share a dressing room with him.

"We all feel the same!"

England boss Gareth Southgate has reiterated that defender Harry Maguire has what it takes to play "at the highest level" despite the Manchester United man's poor club form.

Maguire was an unused substitute for the Three Lions in Saturday's 2-1 friendly win over Switzerland at Wembley, but could return to the team against Ivory Coast on Tuesday.

Conor Coady, Ben White, and debutant Marc Guehi started as England played a back three in their comeback win over Switzerland, with Maguire earning criticism in recent weeks for his role in the Red Devils' underwhelming campaign.

Despite acknowledging that Maguire is going through a "difficult moment" with his club, Southgate reasserted his belief in the 29-year-old's quality.

With Maguire's club team-mates Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho left out of the Three Lions party for the March internationals, Southgate also highlighted the increased depth England possess in the forward areas.

"In terms of selection, it's always a difficult conundrum, because we've got players who we know have performed well in an England shirt," Southgate said. "[But] there's got to be some level of scrutiny on how people are playing for their clubs. 

"Everybody has a view on who we should or shouldn't be picking, in the end we need the best players possible, playing at their best level, to have a chance of winning.

"He [Maguire] has got us to a World Cup semi-final and a European Championship final, so there's no doubt that he's capable of playing at the very highest level. 

"The club [United] are in a difficult moment, and there could be any number of reasons for that. 

"That doesn't mean that players can be poor for a couple of years and still find their way in, [but] it also depends on competition for positions, we've left some forward players out who haven't been in good form, but there are experienced replacements for those players."

Meanwhile, Southgate would not reveal whether captain Harry Kane would start against Ivory Coast, praising the Tottenham star's attitude after he drew level with Bobby Charlton's tally of 49 goals for the Three Lions.

Kane is now joint-second in England's all-time goalscoring charts, just four goals shy of Wayne Rooney's record haul of 53 goals, but Southgate hinted that he could choose to look at other options against The Elephants.

"If he had his way he'd play 90 minutes of every fixture," the England boss added. "Which is a brilliant quality to have, because if you're the captain, and want to be at every camp, playing every minute of every game, that sets the tone for everything else.

"The fact is, we've got a good squad, we want to keep people involved and give people opportunities, we need to see certain things across the week, to see how people can play at this level.

"I'll let Ivory Coast find out [whether Kane will start] when we put the team sheet out!"

Harry Kane is the world's best striker and can land another World Cup Golden Boot this year, says England team-mate Luke Shaw.

Tottenham ace Kane scored the winner for England from the penalty spot in Saturday's 2-1 friendly success against Switzerland at Wembley.

That goal 12 minutes from time, after Shaw had cancelled out Breel Embolo's header, took Kane level with Bobby Charlton as England's joint-second all-time top scorer.

Only Wayne Rooney has scored more goals in an England shirt, with the former Manchester United frontman having netted 53 compared to Kane and Charlton's 49 strikes.

With seven England games pencilled in between now and the World Cup, Kane may well break that goalscoring record before Qatar 2022 gets up and running in November.

On current form, Shaw is backing his Three Lions colleague to finish top of the scoring charts in the global showpiece, having previously done so in Russia four years ago.

"I don't see why not," Shaw told beIN SPORTS. "For me, at the moment, the way he's playing, he's one of the best strikers in the world, probably the best.

"So hopefully he can keep that form up, keep it going. He's showing it week in, week out at the moment, and it's a joy to watch.

"Long may that continue, and I’m sure he will be hunting another Golden Boot and all the other records."

At club level, Kane has scored 11 goals in 17 appearances so far this calendar year and chipped in with a further four assists in all competitions.

The 15 direct goal involvements is a tally bettered only by Robert Lewandowski, Christopher Nkunku (both 16) and Karim Benzema (17) from Europe's top five leagues.

Kane has also now scored eight goals in his last three international appearances, helping England to three successive wins with an aggregate score of 17-1.

England were not at their best against Switzerland, but Manchester United defender Shaw believes the battling display – a seventh comeback win under Gareth Southgate – stands the national team in good stead.

"The belief, the confidence – I've said it many times before, when we're under pressure in games where it's not going the way we want to, I feel like we're all together," said Shaw.

"We're going to come across all sorts of games when we're under pressure. The main thing for me is we're all together, and we do that in abundance where we're really well drilled, and we know what everyone has to do when they step out on that pitch.

"That's with the ball but definitely without the ball we're getting better with that, too."

Gareth Southgate is not worried about the prospect of Harry Kane struggling with pressure as he closes on Wayne Rooney's England goals record.

Kane scored the winner as the Three Lions beat Switzerland 2-1 in Saturday's friendly at Wembley, converting a penalty 12 minutes from time.

It took him level with Bobby Charlton on 49 goals for England, meaning only Rooney on 53 is now ahead of the Tottenham star.

Rooney, who coincidentally broke Charlton's initial record with a penalty against Switzerland in 2015, was considered by many to have passed his peak when he reached 50 goals, as he only went on to score another three.

There was also a degree of obsession around the achievement in the lead up, with the idea that Rooney struggled somewhat with the pressure a common theory.

Whether that truly was the case, only Rooney knows, but Southgate is convinced Kane will not be impacted in such a way.

Asked if he wanted Kane to break the record before the World Cup so it does not become a distraction, Southgate jovially replied: "I'd like him to break it in the World Cup final!

"I think he's quite calm about it, confident he can get there because his goals per game record is phenomenally good.

"I don't know where that would compare to Jimmy Greaves, but I imagine he's the only other player who'd be close [to Greaves], so I think he knows there's always going to be speculation.

"If he doesn't break it before [the World Cup] then [the country] will be saying he's out of form and should he be in the team.

"One way or another, the focus will be on him – he's used to dealing with it and I'm sure he'll be very calm about it whichever way."

But in the eyes of Southgate, there is much more to Kane than just his goals, with the England manager delighted to have such a talent who also acts as an example with his attitude.

"I think the names he's amongst now are incredible, aren't they? He'll appreciate that history and it'll mean a lot to him to be in with those people," Southgate said of Kane pulling level with Charlton.

"You'd have to say he looks favourite to go and do that [break Rooney's record], I don't want to put any sort of curse on that and say any more, but he wants the team to do well.

"He has this dual drive. What's great is that means that whenever he turns up, because he also has the individual ambition, there's never a camp where he doesn't look like he wants to play, or doesn't want to be involved or at the forefront of things.

"That's the mentality that then spreads through the rest of the group, so I'm very pleased for him and I think in the second half especially we were just about value for the win."

England are in action again on Tuesday when they host Ivory Coast. Three days later they will find out their opponents at Qatar 2022 when the World Cup draw is made.

Paul Pogba has one foot out of the door at Manchester United, going on the record this week to say he has been disappointed by his five seasons with the Red Devils.

With his contract set to expire in June, the 29-year-old will have plenty of suitors from all over Europe.

While he is expected to sign with an established Champions League contender, Premier League sides Newcastle United and Aston Villa are reportedly assessing if the France international has any interest in remaining in England.

TOP STORY - POGBA TO STAY IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE?

While away on international duty, Pogba spoke to French media about how his time at Manchester United has fallen short of expectations.

He spoke about how he has been depressed at times throughout his latest near six-year stint in England, and went on to describe the current season as "dead", pointing to his ambition to win trophies in the future.

It seems likely that Pogba's future will be at another club, and while it is widely reported that the favourites to attain Pogba's services are European giants Juventus, Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain, The Sun is reporting that Newcastle and Aston Villa are "monitoring the situation".

ROUND-UP

- According to Calciomercato, Milan are considering a summer move for Chelsea's Jorginho after his agent declared it would be a "dream" to return to Italy. "Today he can play in four or five teams: AC Milan, Inter, Juventus, Roma or Napoli," agent Joao Santos declared this week.

- The Evening Standard is reporting that Declan Rice would prefer to move to Chelsea as opposed to Manchester United after West Ham reportedly placed a £150million price tag on the English midfielder to try and fend off circling clubs.

- Tottenham's Harry Kane was non-committal when asked about his future at the club, with The Daily Mirror reporting there is interest in reuniting the striker with former boss Mauricio Pochettino if he is to secure the top job at Manchester United.

- UOL is reporting that Barcelona are set to make it a three-horse race for young Ajax star Antony after Dani Alves recommended the Barca hierarchy should match the bids of Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

England captain Harry Kane has called for a collective effort from his fellow international skippers to highlight the human rights issues in Qatar ahead of this year's World Cup.

Qatar's poor human rights record has been a concern during the build-up to the 2022 finals.

The nation's stance towards women and the LGBTQ+ community was widely raised as an issue before FIFA awarded it the tournament in 2010. 

Meanwhile, the deaths of thousands of migrant workers have been reported during preparation for the finals, although Qatar's organising committee disputed what it called "inaccurate claims" around the number of fatalities.

England manager Gareth Southgate described it as a "great shame" after learning of female and LGBTQ+ supporters who were subsequently staying away from the tournament.

Southgate led a briefing to his squad at St George’s Park on Tuesday about the issues surrounding Qatar's hosting of the finals – most notably the rights of women, the LGBTQ+ community and migrant workers.

There was also input from other FA staff members including chief executive Mark Bullingham and Edleen John, the director of international relations, corporate affairs and co-partner for equality, diversity and inclusion.

Skipper Kane mentioned his Tottenham team-mates Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-min – who captain France and South Korea respectively – as he called for a united approach and strength in numbers to drive lasting social change in the country.

Addressing the media ahead of England's friendly against Switzerland on Saturday, the striker said: "I feel as a group, we've never shied away from important issues, and we've always had our opinions and tried to show unity in anything we've done.

"That's what will happen now over this camp and the next camp to try to help in any way we can to support those issues.

"As players, we didn't choose where this World Cup was going to be. But what it has done is shine a light on important issues which might not have come to light if the World Cup wasn't there.

"We have to try to help as much as possible to understand the issues and the situations. We're no experts in that field at the moment in terms of what we know but as always, we try to help in any way we can, we try to use our platform to help in any way we can.

"I understand there has been some progress on certain issues in the country so far. What my hope is that having the World Cup there and having this light on the country will help try and progress some of the issues which have been going on for a long time.

"There's a couple of other national team captains in my team at Tottenham, maybe [I will be] talking to other national team captains to see whether we can be unified in what we try and do and approach it.

"That's something myself and some of the senior players in the team will look to try to achieve over the coming months.

"There's still a lot of progress to be made. But hopefully all of us, like we have done in the past, can try to make change with the platforms that we have."

Harry Kane is focused on leading England to World Cup glory later this year, with "more fire in the belly" following their Euro 2020 final heartbreak.

The Three Lions, whose only major international honour came when they won the 1966 World Cup, were within touching distance of ending 55 years of hurt last July.

However, they were beaten by Italy on penalties at Wembley in the final of the delayed tournament.

Gareth Southgate's side, who also reached the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup, are looking to go the extra step and get their hands on silverware in Qatar in December, having come through qualification for the finals unbeaten.

England step up their preparations with back-to-back friendlies over the next week against Switzerland (March 26) and the Ivory Coast (March 29) at Wembley.

Captain Kane scored seven goals across the final two qualifiers against Albania and San Marino. That took his tally to 48, moving him joint-third with Gary Lineker on his country's all-time list and just six away from breaking Wayne Rooney's record (53).

The Tottenham man is thrilled with the progress he and his England team-mates have made over the past four years and explains they have a burning desire for glory.

"From where we were pre-World Cup 2018 to where we are now, we've made massive strides, with the squad, with the team, with the connection with the fans," he said. "There's definitely an expectation on us now.

"Obviously, the final in the summer still hurts. It still has a bitter taste in the mouth, but for sure it gives you more hunger, more fire in the belly to take that one step further and try to win a major tournament.

"We're working towards that, we feel like we're improving every year. 

"Hopefully, we can take big strides to becoming one of the best teams in the history of the England national team."

Son Heung-min said the only downside to Tottenham's Premier League win over West Ham was that Harry Kane drew another blank in front of goal.

A 3-1 victory lifted Spurs to fifth place in the Premier League, three points behind north London rivals Arsenal, with Son hitting a fine double.

Kane and Son combined to cause the panic that prompted Kurt Zouma to put the ball into his own net early on, before wreaking more havoc at the heart of West Ham's defence.

A sumptuous throughball from Kane set up Son to make it 2-0, before Said Benrahma pulled one back.

In the 88th minute, Kane flicked on a long kick from Hugo Lloris and Son dashed through to finish off West Ham.

It means Kane has managed a competition-high 19 assists in the Premier League since the start of last season, though he has hit only four league goals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this term.

The England captain has now been involved in 50 goals in Premier League London derbies (39 goals, 11 assists), becoming just the third player to reach this milestone after Thierry Henry (55) and Frank Lampard (50).

Kane has assisted Son 20 times for goals in the Premier League, with only Lampard (24 to Didier Drogba) and David Silva (21 to Sergio Aguero) having teed up a single team-mate more often in the competition's history.

"The relationship with Harry, I've spoken about it more than 100 times now," Son said on Sky Sports.

"It's incredible to have this striker alongside me and I feel sorry for him today that he didn't score.

"He looked sad, obviously as a striker, and I feel sad as well for him because I want him to score so many goals, and you want everything as a team-mate and as a friend."

Kane hit a double at home against Everton earlier this month, but his luck was out against West Ham, although he made his presence felt with his creative skills.

As a result, Tottenham are firmly in the hunt for a top-four finish and Champions League football next season.

"From the start of the game we played really well; especially in the first half we created so many chances," Son added.

"It's a massive, massive three points before the international break, so we are really happy."

Spurs have won four of their last five Premier League games now, and reaching the Champions League is looking a real possibility again.

An FA Cup exit to Middlesbrough came early in Tottenham's recent strong league run, and that meant that coming into this game they had not won back-to-back games across all competitions since December.

They have now banished that particular demon and Son recognised the importance of doing so.

"We haven't wanted to speak about this situation," he said. "To bounce back is always so, so important, for your confidence as well, and your rhythm."

Son Heung-min and Harry Kane turned on the derby style in a 3-1 win over West Ham as Tottenham jumped to fifth place in the Premier League.

The pair created the chaos that resulted in an early Kurt Zouma own goal, before teaming up again when Kane's pass teed up Son to put the hosts two ahead.

Said Benrahma hauled West Ham back in the game, but David Moyes' men could not find a leveller and Son finished them off in the 88th minute.

A fourth win in five Premier League games means Tottenham are now ahead of the Hammers and Manchester United, albeit three points adrift of great rivals Arsenal in fourth. In Kane and Son, Spurs have two of the best, and they could yet carry Antonio Conte's team into the Champions League.

Tottenham snatched a ninth-minute lead when Zouma turned the ball past Lukasz Fabianski after Kane tried to pick out Son, who should have made it 2-0 soon after only to fizz wide.

Son made no such mistake at the next time of asking, finding the back of the net after a delicious throughball from Kane, the striker's fierce left-footed shot taking a telling deflection off Zouma on its way in.

Benrahma volleyed West Ham back into it in the 35th minute after Craig Dawson headed on Aaron Cresswell's corner from the left.

Fabianski did well to smother a Kane shot early in the second half, before Dejan Kulusevski whipped a strike too high as Tottenham kept pushing for a third, and it came when Kane and Son inevitably combined again.

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris booted the ball long for Kane to flick on for Son, who ran beyond the West Ham defence and rammed gleefully past Fabianski.

At the start of the Premier League season, if you were to talk about a London derby that could be crucial for both teams in the race for Champions League qualification, you might guess it would be Chelsea against either Arsenal or Tottenham.

That West Ham are still in the conversation for the top four as we approach late March is impressive in itself, but that they have done so while having the added distraction of a Europa League run just adds further credit to the bank for David Moyes' men.

There are no such distractions for Spurs, who host the Hammers on Sunday, with both eager to win and get closer to fourth in the table.

Antonio Conte's men go into the game behind West Ham on goal difference, having played a game fewer, while both sit two points behind Manchester United in fifth and three behind Arsenal in fourth.

Ahead of what should be a fascinating encounter in the capital, Stats Perform has taken a look at some key facts.

Kane to continue bashing Hammers?

Harry Kane has had an odd season, scoring just once in his first 15 games in the league, before plundering 11 in 14 top-flight appearances since.

The England captain also has a tremendous record against West Ham, scoring eight in his six home league games against them – the most home goals he has scored against a specific opponent in the competition.

However, Hammers striker Michail Antonio has scored more Premier League goals against Tottenham than he has against any other opponent in the competition (six), three of which have been the winning goal in 1-0 victories, including in the reverse fixture this season.

Spurs must avoid more derby misery

Tottenham have lost five of their seven Premier League London derby matches this season (W2), last losing more in a single campaign back in 2004-05 (seven).

In fact, their six points accumulated is the fewest of any other side in Premier League London derbies in the current campaign.

West Ham, on the other hand, have won three of their last four derbies in the league (L1), as many as they had in their previous 12 such games (D5 L4).

Only Chelsea (18) have earned more points in London derbies this season.

Moyes must rediscover form on the road

It has been a memorable season for West Ham so far, including a famous European night at the London Stadium on Thursday as they knocked Sevilla out of the Europa League to reach the quarter-finals.

However, despite a very good start to the campaign, they have come unstuck in away games in the Premier League.

Having won four and drawn one of their first five away games in the league this season (13 points), the Hammers have since won just twice in nine on the road, drawing two and losing five (eight points).

Go on, my Son

With all the deserved plaudits Kane gets, it can sometimes feel like Son Heung-min gets a bit ignored despite being one of the best players in European football.

Son has been in fine form as Spurs have tried to force their way back into the top four, and has been involved in seven goals in his last seven Premier League home games (six goals, one assist).

Overall this season, he has scored twice as many home league goals as any other Spurs player (eight).

Harry Kane becoming the leading Premier League scorer of away goals has been hailed an “outstanding achievement” by Tottenham boss Antonio Conte.

The England captain surpassed Wayne Rooney by netting for the 95th time away from home in the English top-flight during Spurs’ 2-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion.

After Cristian Romero gave the visitors the lead at the Amex Stadium, Kane sealed the point onto Rodrigo Bentancur’s throughball before slotting past Robert Sanchez.

Despite enduring a slow start to the campaign, the striker took his goal tally to 22 across all competitions, and Conte heaped praise on the 28-year-old.

"It is an outstanding achievement for him, but we are talking about a world-class striker," the head coach said. 

"I am pleased for Harry to score in this way because at the start of the season, he struggled a bit and didn't score a lot and now he knows very well with this team, he has great opportunities to score in every game.

"To have a striker like him makes us stronger but at the same time, his feeling now is positive because he knows he will have chances."

Victory at the Amex moved Tottenham to within three points of fourth-placed Arsenal with 10 games remaining.

And Conte was thrilled by the efforts of his players, who recorded a first away win over Brighton since September 2018.

"I am very pleased for a good performance and because we got three points," the Italian continued.

"It is the final part of the season, and it is vital to get three points. We want to stay very close to the top to see what will happen at the end of the season.

"In my opinion, we are playing very well and improving a lot with the ball and also tonight, we also showed solidity defensively."

Kane added: "I was really pleased to get the goal and help the team win the match. Milestones are great especially away from home. 

"It is always tough, so to know you can do it year-on-year against tough opposition is nice, but it is all about the team and working hard. 

"We got ahead in the game, and then I think we controlled it. Overall, it was a really good night away from home.

"We played good football; we just have to keep winning games."

Harry Kane has broken the record for most Premier League goals scored away from home after netting in Tottenham's clash at Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old put Spurs 2-0 up at the Amex Stadium, and in the process moved to 95 goals from 139 away appearances, and ahead of Wayne Rooney's 94 in the competition.

Kane surpassed the former Manchester United and Everton striker's benchmark despite having played in 104 fewer such games in the competition.

The next four from the England captain in the ranking - Rooney, Alan Shearer, Frank Lampard and Andrew Cole - all made over 200 appearances in the EPL.

With the goal, Kane also moved to 12 goals in the Premier League and 22 in all competitions for the year.