Harry Kane breaks Wayne Rooney record as England get World Cup ready

Harry Kane grabbed yet another goalscoring record as he netted the opening goal in England’s friendly win over New Zealand.

The Three Lions skipper scored the only goal of the game as he put the Three Lions 1-0 up on the stroke of half-time in their first pre-World Cup friendly at the Raymond James Stadium, Tampa.

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Kane broke the deadlock in the third minute of added time, as Djed Spence‘s inch-perfect cross found him inside the box to glance a header into the far corner.

It came at a perfect time for Thomas Tuchel‘s side, relieving any tension in their ranks as they looked set to head in goalless at half-time.

Not only was this the Bayern Munich star’s 67th goal of the season, it also saw him write himself into the England record books yet again.

Another day, another record

By finding the net in Tampa, this was Kane’s first goal on US soil and his 21st in a different country for England.

This means that he has now scored for the Three Lions in more different countries than any other player for the national team.

Wayne Rooney held the previous record, who got on the scoresheet in 20 countries across the world during his England career.

But just as Kane overtook Rooney as the Three Lions’ all-time record goalscorer, he has now done the same with a unique bit of history.

As well as finding the net on new territory, New Zealand were also the 35th different opponent that Kane has scored against for England, seven more than Rooney managed in his international career (28).

The 33-year-old has now netted 78 goals for his country, while teammate Spence enjoyed a career first of his own by teeing him up.

The Tottenham left-back recorded his first-ever assist for England in just his fifth appearance for his country, as he put a difficult club season behind him with a positive showing on international duty.

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Spence’s maiden assist was effectively his and Kane’s last involvement in the game, as manager Tuchel swapped his entire team at half-time.

Solid minutes

As was expected before the game, the German fielded a completely different XI for the second half in Florida, in order to give players an equal amount of minutes.

With Kane starting up front alongside Ollie Watkins in the first half, Tuchel opted for a change in system for the second half, with Jude Bellingham operating as a no.10 behind Ivan Toney.

Meanwhile Spence was replaced by Tino Livramento at left-back, who earned just his sixth senior cap in the process.

Rio Ngumoha was the standout half-time introduction, as the Liverpool starlet came on to make his senior England debut.

This was despite the 17-year-old not being named in the Three Lions’ final 26-man World Cup squad, who has joined the camp in Florida as one of three ‘training players’, alongside Alex Scott, Josh King and Ethan Nwaneri.

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And Ngumoha made quite the impression, with the youngster arguably England’s most dangerous player in the second half.

The pre-tournament friendly was played in sweltering conditions in Florida, with the temperature reaching 32 degrees Celsius as the Three Lions look to use their warmup games to acclimatise.

As a result, goals were perhaps of lesser importance in this game, with England focused instead on coping with the conditions.

Ultimately, Kane’s goal was enough to get the Three Lions over the line with the win, as Tuchel’s side were unable to build on their lead in the second half, but came away without any injuries despite concerns being raised before the game over the playing surface.