Now only five goals away from becoming the greatest goalscorer his nation has ever seen, England captain Harry Kane moved one step closer to breaking Wayne Rooney’s record with his 49th strike in England colours to propel his side to victory over Switzerland.
After Breel Embolo’s header and another Luke Shaw left-footed thunderbolt at Wembley saw the two sides level pegging at 1-1, Kane produced his trademark penalty past Jonas Omlin in the 78th minute after Steven Zuber’s handball to further write his name in the history books.
The Tottenham Hotspur talisman moved level with Sir Bobby Charlton into second place in the England men’s team’s all-time top goalscoring list – as well as equalling top women’s goalscorer Ellen White’s 49 – and one would not put it past Kane to surpass Rooney’s 53 before the World Cup rolls around in the winter.
Now boasting a three-game winning streak in all competitions, Gareth Southgate’s side have one final friendly to contend with before the serious competition kicks off with the Nations League in June, and it is now 14 unbeaten at Wembley for the Three Lions in all competitions.
Furthermore, England have now found the back of the net in their last 13 matches and are seeking a 10th friendly win in a row on home soil, although the Ivory Coast certainly command respect following their resilient showing on French turf.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta claimed that a “different” Nicolas Pepe had returned to London Colney following the Africa Cup of Nations, and the Gunners winger justified such comments with a slick opening goal when his side made the journey to the Stade de France.
However, Les Elephants could not hold on for a famous win against Didier Deschamps’s men, as Olivier Giroud levelled only three minutes after Pepe’s opener before Aurelien Tchouameni also headed home right at the death to hand Les Bleus the victory.
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French national Patrice Beaumelle understandably took the positives from his side’s showing against the world champions, with Ivory Coast now aiming to rebuild for the future after an early Africa Cup of Nations exit and failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
It is now just one win from their last five friendly encounters for Beaumelle’s side, though, and they are winless in four exhibition matches away from home since beating Tunisia in October 2019, with that streak unlikely to end in the English capital.
Tuesday’s friendly will mark the first-ever meeting between England and Ivory Coast in any competition, as Southgate’s side aim to give the home crowd something else to cheer before domestic football takes centre stage once again.
