Harry Kane’s 69th international goal sparked a second-half scoring spree that fired England back to the top tier of the UEFA Nations League on Sunday.
In interim manager Lee Carsley’s final game in charge, a 5-0 win against Ireland secured promotion and ensured England will be back among Europe’s leading nations in the next edition of the competition.
“I wanted the England team to be exciting to watch and attacking,” Carsley said. “I see them do it day in, day out on the training ground. And now we’ve seen it [on the field].”
Photo: AFP
England won their group on goal difference ahead of second-placed Greece, which beat Finland 2-0.
Kane’s 53rd-minute penalty at Wembley was a record-extending goal for his country after Liam Scales brought down Jude Bellingham in the box and was sent off for a second yellow card offense.
Within five minutes England were 3-0 up through Anthony Gordon in the 55th and Conor Gallagher in the 58th.
Photo: Reuters
Substitute Jarrod Bowen made an immediate impact, scoring with his first touch in the 75th and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, making his debut, headed in another four minutes later.
“A really important win for us,” Kane said. “It was a tough first half, but we came out second half with a lot more energy and we finished it off.”
England, which is set to welcome new head coach Thomas Tuchel in January, needed to match Greece’s result to top Group B2.
Adrien Rabiot scored two goals as France beat Italy 3-1 to win Group A2.
Both teams had already secured their places in the quarter-finals before the match in Milan, but France needed to win by at least two goals to take top spot.
“It’s been a while since we’ve played a match like that, fighting all together,” Rabiot told French television channel TF1.
“The aggressiveness that we showed, our team spirit, that should all be highlighted. That is the real face of the France team,” he said.
Rabiot headed the visitors in front just inside two minutes.
France shocked the San Siro into silence in the 33rd when Lucas Digne curled in a magnificent free-kick from 23m that went into the top left corner via the underside of the bar and Guglielmo Vicario. It went down as an own goal from the Italy goalkeeper, who was a late replacement after Gianluigi Donnarumma fell ill with a stomach bug.
Italy pulled a goal back two minutes later when Andrea Cambiaso volleyed past Mike Maignan.
However, Rabiot grabbed his second in the 65th with another header — the sixth goal in a row Italy has conceded from set plays.
While the match had started with the Italy fans booing the French anthem, it finished with France supporters proudly singing the same song in triumph.
It was the first time Italy had lost a home game by two or more goals since 1983, according to soccer statistician Opta.
Also in the group, No. 6-ranked Belgium fell to a surprise 1-0 loss against Israel — ranked 81st. Yarden Shua’s goal settled the game, which was held in Budapest, Hungary, in the 86th. Israel were relegated to League B despite the win.
Belgium must now face a playoff to try to avoid relegation.
Erling Haaland leads the Nations League scoring charts after hitting a hat trick in Norway’s 5-0 win against Kazakhstan in Group B3.
The Manchester City striker took his total to seven goals and is two clear of Viktor Gyokeres, Cristiano Ronaldo and Benjamin Sesko, who are all tied on five.
Norway were promoted to the top tier, ahead of second-place Austria, which drew 1-1 with Slovenia.
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