After scoring a perfect hat-trick in the first half of England’s match against Albania, Harry Kane has become the country’s all-time top scorer in competitive matches.

The Tottenham striker has now scored 39 goals in competitive games for England, overtaking the previous record of 37 scored by Wayne Rooney.

It also places him level in the all-time goalscoring ranking with the late Jimmy Greaves on 44.

Perfect night! One step closer… 🎩⚽️⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/7FuCa1rYS1

England played Albania on Friday night, where they moved to within a point of qualification for the 2022 World Cup after winning 5-0.

Kane was joined by Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson on the scoresheet, with all the goals coming in the first half at Wembley.

The captain also became the first player to score a perfect hat-trick, which consists of goals scored by a header, a left-foot, and a right-foot, for England since David Platt in February 1993 against San Marino.

It marked his fourth hat-trick for the country as well.

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Manager Gareth Southgate praised Kane’s performance after the game, saying: “We know he’s going to score goals but I really liked the way he was aggressive in his hold-up play.

“He was running in behind and his link play was really on song tonight and that was helped as well by good movement around him.”

He added that “form is always temporary” but what pleased him most was Kane’s “all-round performance”.

"Number four. The perfect one." 👏

A word with @HKane after his hat-trick against Albania… pic.twitter.com/9PdPVnvu4f

In a clip posted on England’s official Twitter account, Kane reflected on his hat-trick, saying: “Number four- the perfect one. Nice game. Good night all round and obviously a great team performance. It was nice to get the hat-trick – hopefully, a few more on Monday.”

Kane also provided the assist for Jordan Henderson’s goal in an outstanding first half followed by a controlled second period as the Three Lions avoided exerting unnecessary energy in the match.

The team now need to draw in their final group game against San Marino, the world’s lowest-ranked side, on Monday to guarantee them a place at the World Cup in Qatar.

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