England boss Southgate hails 'phenomenal' Kane and praises Smith Rowe

Gareth Southgate hails ‘phenomenal’ Harry Kane and praises Emile Smith Rowe after San Marino romp… England boss admits he has a ‘lot to take in’ after sealing World Cup qualification

• Harry Kane scored four against the worst ranked team in world football 
• The striker joined England legend Gary Lineker on 48 international goals
• Midfielder Emile Smith Rowe scored and assisted on his first England start

Gareth Southgate has challenged Harry Kane to set a goalscoring record that will never be broken after England booked their place at the World Cup with a ruthless destruction of San Marino on Monday night.

Captain Kane scored four in a 10-0 rout as England recorded their biggest win in a competitive match. It moves him to 48 goals for his country, equalling Gary Lineker’s total and putting Wayne Rooney’s record of 53 E

‘That will definitely be one of his goals,’ said Southgate. 

England striker Harry Kane with the match ball after scoring four goals against San Marino

‘He has got huge personal ambition and showed again his clinical nature and the mentality he’s got. It’s not “if” he is going to break the record, it’s “when”. And then it’s about what he is going to do beyond then. If we left him another half an hour, we would have had Wayne Rooney’s family on the phone telling us to get him off!’

Kane himself added: ‘It is fantastic. Every time I wear an England shirt I am proud and whenever I can score goals it is one of the greatest feelings I can have in my career.’

On England’s qualification for the World Cup, Southgate pinpointed a 4-0 win in Hungary, 1-1 draw in Poland and 2-0 victory in Albania as the key moments: ‘The qualification was earned away in Budapest, away in Warsaw, away in Albania.

England boss Gareth Southgate branded Kane ‘phenomenal’ after scoring four goals

‘I’ve got to credit all our players and staff on a really good year. Their mentality tonight — because we can’t do anything about the level of opposition — the way they applied themselves was terrific.’

Emile Smith Rowe scored and assisted on his first England start and Southgate indicated that the Arsenal midfielder is now a genuine contender to make his World Cup squad.

‘I thought Emile all week with us has given a really good account of himself, his quality and tight control is excellent and he is inventive in his play.

Southgate praised Emile Smith Rowe, who scored assisted on his first England start

‘So he has got to keep doing what he is doing, we finished with a very young side with a lot of promise for the future as you can see.’

When asked how many places in his final World Cup party might be up for grabs, Southgate added: ‘I’ve not really thought that far ahead, now is a good period to reflect on that.

‘We’ve had 19 matches this year which is a lot in international terms and there’s a lot to take in.

‘But this is a good opportunity to take in what has happened.’

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