Gordon on Kane: ‘We’ve not seen this before’

Harry Kane scored twice to help England come from behind to beat DR Congo 2-1 and book their place in the last 16 of this summer’s tournament.

The England leading goalscorer’s strikes were his 71st and 72nd goals of the campaign for club and country in what has been a prolific season.

Lionel Messi is the only player in world football to score more goals for club and country in a single campaign, when he struck 82 times for Barcelona and Argentina in 2011/12.

‘There can’t be any more of a compliment’

Speaking on the latest episode of Lions Den Connected By EE, Gordon - who set up Kane twice against DR Congo - could not speak highly enough of his teammate.

“I said this after the game, that his season has only been beaten by Messi,” Gordon said.

“When you put it like that, it’s outrageous. Lionel Messi is the best ever; there’s only one of him, and second behind him is [Kane] this season. There can’t be any more of a compliment than that.

“What he’s doing this season is something we’ve not seen before; no English player has ever done it. He’s unbelievable; his consistency every day, his ability to get a shot off from any angle is the best I’ve ever seen.

“As a country, we probably need to appreciate him more than we do because he’s the best to ever wear an England shirt.”

Kane’s leadership on and off the pitch

Following England’s Group L victory over Panama to secure their place in the knockouts, the squad shared a special moment with the travelling fans after full-time.

Led by Kane, players and staff were hand-in-hand, facing the England fans in New Jersey and all singing Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’ together.

It has become somewhat of a tradition after a win in North America, and Gordon revealed that Kane - being the leader he is - made sure the team celebrated their dramatic victory with the fans again.

“It creates an energy and momentum amongst us all, that’s very special,” Gordon explained. “It speaks volumes about how good of a leader he is, not just to lead on the pitch but also off it.

“Everyone can see what he does on the pitch. He scored two goals and dragged us into the next round and got us over the line, but then to actually have that self-awareness of where we were in the last group game [the celebrations against Panama], to be able to think of that moment in this moment, and make this moment even better, made the celebrations special, got everyone on the same page.

“He’s right, you don’t celebrate it when your expectations are so high, but maybe you should. Until he said it, we probably wouldn’t have, so it’s down to him that we got to celebrate and really take it all in.”