England 4-0 Bulgaria: Harry Kane scores hat-trick in Three Lions win
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By Phil McNulty
Chief football writer at Wembley
England captain Harry Kane scored a hat-trick as they cruised to victory from Bulgaria to keep their 100% record from Euro 2020 qualifying.
The aspect of gareth Southgate made it three wins with 14 goals from three, hardly having to break sweat as they cleared another obstacle in their path towards next summer’s showpiece.
Kane and Raheem Sterling were mortal as England assembled momentum out of a first 45 minutes.
The pair joined to offer a 24th-minute lead when Sterling pounced on an error to set Kane to get a finish on the turn up to England.
Kane scored England’s second in the place four minutes the punishment granted for the foul of Nikolay Bodurov on Marcus Rashford, then he crossed to bundle home for Sterling the third in the 55th minute.
Tottenham’s Kane completed his treble with a different spot-kick after he had been hauled down by Kristian Dimitrov to carry his outstanding international listing to 25 targets from 40 appearances, with this his next hat-trick after achieving the same feat against Panama in the 2018 World Cup.
Southgate, with success managed to provide a introduction that is senior as England had the ideal preparation for another qualifier against Kosovo at Southampton on Tuesday.
Sterling and kane are going to assert the headlines for England rightly so and once more they are a set of attackers.
Kane’s hat-trick takes him beyond England’s 1966 World Cup closing hat-trick hero Sir Geoff Hurst, who scored 24 goals in 49 appearances.
Sterling set him up to his first and Kane repaid the compliment for England their venture growing in prestige and providing Southgate.
Sterling’s pace was a constant threat to an admittedly quite poor Bulgaria side however, in comparison with Kane, he was able to lift England by a bad first-half screen on to a degree that finally made it a matter of how many they’d score.
England have been presented together with what, from Group A, looks to the outside – but the manner in which they’ve drifted apart the Czech Republic, Montenegro and now Bulgaria has been quietly striking.
England might have come at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the summer’s Uefa Nations League Finals, however, it sounds a formality that they will find another crack at end the years of hurt in Euro 2020.
In fact, director Gareth Southgate and England could barely have asked for a kinder draw compared to the one they’ve been granted and it is tough to find any of the teams in their group bothering them.
The single problem England may face is that, once again, the very first serious test of the credentials, ambitions and progress may come from the Euros summer.
Southgate match sharp for that with performances and by constructing a squad that can strike the ground running after the action begins at Euro 2020 and should make certain England are ready.
England may not have many tests prior to then so Southgate will have to use time and games sensibly to assemble a squad that’s finally in form to get over the line once it matters.
England striker Harry Kane talking to ITV:”First half we have caught on the counter a few timeswe mentioned at half-time we had to try and come out and find an early goal and then that’s exactly what we did. It is a good result we aspire to take into Tuesday.
“It’s good for [Raheem Sterling] he’s taken his club form into global form, he is an incredible player. We like playing together, most of us do.”
England manager Gareth Southgate speaking to ITV:”I think it improved as the match went on. We didn’t need to items. We seemed dangerous, at times we took a few too many touches. We were caused by their creation difficulties from possession.
“In a game like that you have to make sure the concentration is right. I felt we had enough firepower to win the match. I am not sure it’s complacency – every team will have some minutes, you have to make certain to see the runs – but I’m generally happy. A number of our attacking play was very exciting.”
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