The disparity has been difficult to explain. Harry Kane’s numbers have been phenomenal for
Tottenham this season: he is the joint top scorer in the
Premier League and the outright leader in assists. In all competitions at club level, the striker has 27 goals and has set up 16 more. And yet when he began this
World Cup qualifier against Albania, he had failed to find the net in six
England matches and contributed only one assist.
Kane is the type of competitor to take these things personally and his determination to put things right was the driving force behind a victory that sets up England nicely for Wednesday’s crunch game against Poland at Wembley. Gareth Southgate’s team lacked tempo and incision until Kane swooped to convert an excellent cross from Luke Shaw, who played his first international since September 2018. And when Kane played in Mason Mount for the second goal just after the hour, there was no doubt about the destination of the points.