It was a night when a Harry Kane penalty conversion positively overflowed with narrative drama. It was his first attempt for England since his notorious miss in the World Cup quarter-final exit against France last December and so goodness knows what was going through his mind as he shaped to take it, after the VAR had spotted a Giovanni Di Lorenzo handball on a corner.
When he scored, it took him clear of Wayne Rooney as England men’s all-time leading scorer with 54 goals. What a moment for the captain. It put his side 2-0 up and to describe them as rampant at that point late in the first half would have been no exaggeration. Declan Rice had scored the first and the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign looked set to begin with a bang.
