Hodgson hails Harry Kane ‘fairytale’ after quickfire goal

Manager praises striker after goal 79 seconds into first cap

Roy Hodgson described Harry Kane’s immediate impact as an England player as “a fairytale” after the substitute scored 78 seconds into his senior debut, helping the national side to maintain their pristine record in qualification for Euro 2016.

Kane nodded in Raheem Sterling’s cross with his third touch at this level, the third-fastest goal by an England debutant after Bill Nicholson in 1951 and John Cock in 1919, to complete the scoring in the 4-0 win. Wayne Rooney had earlier registered his 47th international goal and Danny Welbeck, who is a doubt for Tuesday’s friendly in Italy with a knee injury, added his sixth goal in five qualifiers this season as Lithuania were routed to give England a fifth successive Group E victory.

“It was a very satisfying evening for us and fantastic for Harry,” said Hodgson. “We’re so delighted for him. It is a bit of a fairytale, but it’s nice when fairytales come true, and it’s come true for Harry. He’s crowned his England debut with a well-taken goal, so I’m delighted with tonight’s performance and for Harry. It couldn’t be better really.

“There’s been a lot of pressure and hype around him and it’s fantastic that, in the time he was on the field, he made a good run to the back post, Raheem Sterling produces a bit of magic and Harry scores a great goal. We hope that’s the start of a great career for him. I think Harry will put pressure on himself because he’s a good professional, but I don’t think he’s a person who’ll buckle under pressure.

“He’ll have to accept the media spotlight, which has already been enormous, will only get bigger, but he’s in good hands with Mauricio (Pochettino) at Tottenham Hotspur and with us here. We’ll make sure we don’t build him up to knock him down, but build him up to be a big part of our future. He is still a young man, but what could be better than making his debut and scoring a goal?”

The Lithuania manager, Igoris Pankratjevas, described Kane as “a sniper, a great striker”, with the player himself departing the turf still pinching himself. “It’s not a bad start, is it?” said the striker, the 17th player to score on his England debut. “I dreamed of this as a kid, and it’s all a bit of a blur at the moment. It’s the best moment of my career. To represent my country at senior level is the top but, hopefully, this goal is the first of many.”

England are braced for withdrawals from their squad over the weekend, with Sterling – who scored their third goal – to return to Liverpool to undergo an injection in a long-standing toe injury, and James Milner to have a scan on a knee complaint. Leighton Baines will be replaced by Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand, while Welbeck hurt his knee just before his substitution and is expected to withdraw. “It was a tweak to the knee,” added Hodgson. “The medical staff gave me the impression they’re not terribly worried about it, but that Tuesday may be too soon for him to feature. But we’ll see.”

England have now won all seven of their games since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and continue to lead Group E by six points. “Since the World Cup we have been fantastic,” said Rooney.

“We’ve had some great victories, are scoring goals and we have real energy around the team. A lot of teams will be looking at this team around Europe and will be frightened.”


By Dominic Fifield / Guardian