
Iconic striker Harry Kane on Tuesday reached his half-century of international goals to rescue England from defeat in Germany during their UEFA Nations League clash. The captain's late penalty moved him ahead of Bobby Charlton to second in the all-time list of England goalscorers - just three behind Wayne Rooney.
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At Munich's Allianz Arena, Jonas Hofmann fired the hosts ahead just after half-time, but the Tottenham Hotspur star fired past Manuel Neuer after being fouled in the box by Nico Schlotterbeck.
"50 @England goals. So so proud. Treasure each and every one of them. Never take it for granted. Important point away from home against a tough team. Let's keep working 💪🦁🦁🦁" wrote the 29-year-old on Twitter.
"I love scoring goals. I have always loved it, especially for my country. Whenever I can help the team, I am glad to do that. It's a really nice feeling [to score]. I had a couple of chances earlier, the first one was over the bar, and Manuel Neuer made a good save for the second. We kept going and played our best football in the last half an hour. Good to get the goal and a shame not to nick it at the end," Kane said following the draw.
"It is really important to show the mentality; 1-0 behind, we showed good character to get back into the game and get a result. We are playing against a very good Germany side. We still have important matches, but the World Cup will be here before we know it," added the talismanic striker when asked about England's comeback.
After the game, England boss Gareth Southgate praised Kane following his 50th goal. "I think rightly the fact he's got 50 goals will be the centre part of the story. But his all-round game, the way he led the line, the way he competed, and how he pressed were exceptional. His quality to drop deep, and I know people say he drops too deep, but you need a player who can unlock the game," he said.
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Team-mate Kieran Trippier added, "Harry Kane stepped up as always. He is special. I used to play with him for club and country. Fifty goals is incredible. He's a top pro. Great leader."
On his team's reaction to falling behind, Southgate added, "The comeback will fill the squad with belief, that's exactly what we've said. We felt like we had to raise the bar, we felt the game was there for us. To respond in the way they did was fantastic. It's an important sign for them as much anything. It is for everyone watching too - but (even more) when you're in the team."
"This group has seven or eight that got to a World Cup semi-final and that's why those player are so important to us because they put their bodies on the line for each other and you need to do that to get a result," Southgate concluded.