England manager Gareth Southgate has heaped praise on Harry Kane after his late equaliser in his side’s 2-2 draw with Scotland at Hampden Park on Saturday afternoon.
Southgate’s side took the lead after 70 minutes through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, before a late brace of stunning free kicks from Leigh Griffiths put the hosts ahead.
However, Scotland could not hold on to the leader as Kane equalised deep into injury time when he volleyed home Raheem Sterling’s wicked cross.
The result means England remain top of Group F, and are favourites to qualify to the 2018 World Cup from the group, while Scotland sit in fourth.
Kane, 23, was captaining England for the first time, in his 18th match and prior to scoring he had put in an average display, missing several guilt-edged chances in the first half.
Nonetheless, Southgate was keen to praise his skipper for the day in an interview with the Daily Mirror.
“It was an important moment – both for the team and individually for Harry,” he said.
“I have a feeling that if he hadn’t scored then we would be talking about how long it has been since Harry Kane has scored for England.
“It is brilliant that in a pressure moment, he has executed a chance that was much harder than Harry actually made it look. I really do think it was a significant moment in that respect.”
Kane has now scored six goals for England in 18 games, having made his debut in the 4-0 European Championship qualifying win over Lithuania in March 2015.
The 23-year-old enjoyed a superb 2016/17 season for Spurs, and was one of the club’s top performers, scoring 29 goals in 30 Premier League games.
He broke into the North Londoners first team in the summer of 2013, and he has since made 165 appearances in all competitions, which have yielded 99 goals and 17 assists.