UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifiers: 3 reasons why England beat Montenegro

#2 Harry Kane remains Europe’s apex predator

Harry Kane plundered a first-half hat-trick in just 20 minutes

Despite Harry Kane having scored a total of 8 goals in the current qualifying campaign prior to tonight’s game, there were plenty of people – myself included – making the argument that perhaps Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham deserved a start ahead of the Spurs man due to his superior club form as of late.

As it turned out, Abraham replaced Kane on 57 minutes and found the net late in the game to score his first senior international goal, but during the first half we were reminded exactly why Gareth Southgate will likely never consider dropping or resting Kane for an important game.

The captain plundered a remarkable hat-trick in just 20 first half minutes, taking his total for the current qualifying campaign to 11 and making him the competition’s top goalscorer. Some fans could argue Kane’s goals – two headers from dead-ball situations and a close-range finish – were relatively easy, but then who else would find themselves in that kind of position?

Simply put, Kane remains Europe’s apex predator in front of goal, and with him in the side, England have a chance against any team in the world. Abraham may be on tremendous form right now – he should probably be given a start in Sunday’s now-meaningless game with Kosovo – but for the foreseeable future at least, he’ll likely remain a backup option as long as Kane is around.

"It's a nice milestone to hit – but hopefully more to come!"After becoming the #ThreeLions sixth-highest all-time goalscorer, @HKane gives his verdict on our win over Montenegro: pic.twitter.com/6DRz7REsQ5

— England (@England) November 14, 2019