Remarkably, Kane’s goal on the stroke of halftime from a magnificent flowing move begun by a marauding Jude Bellingham to make it 2-0 was his first shot on target in the tournament.
More remarkably, and the reason England’s hopes are soaring as high as the desert sun, is that it made him the eighth England player to hit the target so far in Qatar.
That incredible spread of goals has been shared by Marcus Rashford (3), Bukayo Saka (3), Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Jordan Henderson plus Kane.
“The quality of the moves was outstanding and the finishing was ruthless,” Southgate said.
FREE-FLOWING FOOTBALL
England’s free-flowing attacking football means they have already matched their World Cup record of 12 goals en route to the semi-finals in 2018 and they have one more already than when they won the trophy for the only time in 1966.
Southgate, whose seventh World Cup win as England coach puts him level with 1966 mastermind Alf Ramsey, is the envy of just about every manager sill left in the tournament, including those in charge of favourites France, Brazil, Argentina and Spain.
Bizarrely Southgate was derided before the tournament as England went on a six-match winless run in the Nations League.
The first five games in that dismal sequence saw England fail to score from open play with Southgate getting heat about an over-cautious system that was inhibiting his players.
But a tweak to a 4-3-3 system and a clear willingness to rotate his forwards in front of a midfield anchored by Declan Rice and powered by Bellingham has unleashed the potential of a squad oozing with attacking talent.
England actually struggled for 38 minutes to break down African champions Senegal as the pace of their passing dropped – something Southgate will need to address.
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