England captain Harry Kane celebrated his 100th cap with a clinical brace as Lee Carsley’s interim reign continued with a comfortable Nations League win against Finland.
All eyes were on the man in the golden boots at Wembley, where the 31-year-old was presented with a golden cap before kick-off having become just the 10th man to reach a century of appearances for the national team.
Kane followed Wayne Rooney and Sir Bobby Charlton in scoring in their 100th match for England, with the skipper rifling home both goals in a controlled 2-0 win over Finland.
Carsley’s first match managing at Wembley was as dominant as Saturday’s win by the same scoreline away to the Republic of Ireland, with fans entertaining themselves by sending paper planes sailing throughout a plain sailing night of Nations League football.
England enjoyed 74 per cent of first half possession but only managed two shots on target, albeit Kane saw a close-range header ruled out for a tight offside call.
Finland goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky proved a tough last line of defence but Kane finally beat him when lashing off the underside of the bar in the 57th minute.
England’s all-time top scorer went onto add a 68th goal to his collection, firing home a pass from debutant Noni Madueke before being replaced to a standing ovation.
Tuesday evening was a special night for Kane and a chance to pay tribute to Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The popular former England manager died last month at the age of 76 and was remembered along with the late Kevin Campbell, Tommy Banks and Craig Shakespeare at Wembley.
England wore black armbands as they did at the weekend, but they were unable to replicate the sharp start seen across the Irish Sea.
Finland deserve credit for seeing off early threats, including stopping Bukayo Saka turning in a Kane header across goal before the skipper saw an effort blocked.
Hradecky stopped a snapshot from the 31-year-old and the visiting goalkeeper did well to stop a deflected Saka shot looping past him as England pressure mounted, with celebrations in the 23rd minute cut short.
Saka’s cross was nodded home by from six yards by centurion Kane, only for Carsley to punch the deck as he saw the flag raised for offside – a decision eventually ratified by the VAR.
Angel Gomes looked sharp in and out of possession on his first England start but fellow midfielder Declan Rice was breathing a sigh of relief after his error allowed Topi Keskinen, who missed an earlier chance, to lash over.
England patiently probed in search of an opener, with Saka proving a thorn in the side before Trent Alexander-Arnold sent a shot skipping just across the face of goal and then wasted a well-placed free-kick.
Kane stepped up to a set-piece early in the second half but Hradecky beat away his powerful 20-yard free-kick with a strong right hand.
Finland’s goalkeeper spread himself well to stop Anthony Gordon and then dealt with an overhead kick from Kane, who finally beat the Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper in the 57th minute.
Kane collected a pass from the impressive Alexander-Arnold, showed great awareness to cut away from Robert Ivanov and lasered home off the underside of the bar.
Carsley soon made changes, with Ezri Konsa withdrawn due to injury shortly before Madueke came on for his England debut.
The changes helped add new life to the team and England’s second arrived through a familiar source in the 76th minute.
Alexander-Arnold’s exceptional ball down the line to Madueke was followed by a clever pass into the path of Kane to send a first-time strike past Finland’s goalkeeper.
The skipper was soon replaced with his work done as fans headed towards the exit and play petered out.
