Gareth Southgate was citing his highlights of Harry Kane’s first 49 caps for England. The assumption might have been that he would start with the goals that rendered his captain only the second Englishman to win the World Cup’s Golden Boot. He did not.
“I remember being in a hotel and hearing he had scored. We weren’t able to see it but it was a brilliant moment for us all,” he said. Southgate was England Under-21 manager in 2015. Kane had gravitated into Roy Hodgson’s senior squad.
He struck 80 seconds into his debut, as a substitute against Lithuania, and Southgate, whose junior side had beaten Czech Republic 1-0 the same night, took an almost paternalistic pride in one of his protégés’ progress.
There will be a further indication of it on Sunday when Kane becomes the 62nd man to reach a half-century of caps for England.
Kane is climbing another list further and faster. Only six have more goals than him and Kane, who has found the net 27 times in his last 32 internationals, could end up as his country’s most prolific marksman. Wayne Rooney, with 53, leads the way, but Kane is only 21 behind.
“The goalscoring record is the really interesting one,” Southgate said. “His strike rate for us is phenomenal and he has time on his side to crack on and chase Wayne’s record which would be a remarkable feat, when you look at Sir Bobby [Charlton], Gary Lineker and Wayne.
"From his perspective, while the personal achievement is something he is driven towards, it is the team achievement. He is so focused on the team having success.”
Kane has helped inspire some collective feats. He captained the first England team in 28 years to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup. He came off the bench last month when, for only the second time, they beat the planet's top-ranked team, but they have never done so away from home.
Now they face a rematch with Belgium, probably requiring a second victory over Roberto Martinez's side to reach the Nations League semi-finals. Last month's defeat to Denmark undid much of that fine work.
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Player ratings for England's win over Belgium
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ENGLAND RATINGS: Jordan Pickford - 7: Dealt with most things thrown at him and one thumping pass almost put Marcus Rashford through on goal. Reuters -
Kyle Walker - 9: The Manchester City defender was ubiquitous on a night he won his 50th cap and his manager's trust again. AFP -
Eric Dier - 6: Giving away unnecessary penalties is becoming the Tottenham defender's forte. Reuters -
Harry Maguire - 7: He and Dier both struggled against Lukaku's physicality early on but both improved markedly in the second half. AFP -
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 6: A subdued performance but provided the only quality ball in open play that led to Mount's winner. Reuters -
Declan Rice - 7: Struggled to get the better of the wily Witsel in the first half but dominated the Dortmund man in the second. Reuters -
Jordan Henderson - 6: Went down theatrically to win the penalty that levelled the tie. AFP -
Kieran Trippier - 7: Looked a square peg in a round hole on the left side of England's defence. Grew into the game though and made some timely interventions. AFP -
Mason Mount - 6: A surprise choice ahead of Jack Grealish and did little to justify it before his deflected effort decided the match. Reuters -
Marcus Rashford - 6: Another who had a subdued night but banged in a penalty that turned the match in England's favour. AFP -
Dominic Calvert-Lewin - 7: Some lovely hold up play with England under the cosh in the first half but precious little to feed on in front of goal. AFP -
SUBS: Harry Kane (on for Calvert-Lewin) - 5: Took the sting out of the game drawing fouls off the Belgium defenders but missed an absolute sitter. EPA -
Kalvin Phillips (on for Henderson) - 6: The Leeds man does not look out of place on the international stage. EPA -
Reece James (on for Alexander-Arnold) - 6: One of four England right-backs to get game time. The Chelsea defender snapped at the heels of Carrasco and Castagne. AFP -
Jadon Sancho (on for Mount) - NA: No time to make an impact. AFP -
BELGIUM RATINGS: Simon Mignolet - 6: Only playing due a raft of injuries but the Club Bruge man could do nothing about either England goal. AFP -
Toby Alderweireld - 7: Hardly troubled and can feel unlucky that Mount's shot looped up off his attempted block for the winner. Reuters -
Dedryck Boyata - 7: Solid showing from the Hertha Berlin defender at the heart of Belgium's three-man defence. Reuters -
Jason Denayer - 7: Comfortably dealt with most things thrown at him but was caught on his heels as substitute Kane nearly connected with a corner. AFP -
Thomas Meunier - 7: Will probably be one of the few players anywhere cursing the absence of VAR after giving away a soft penalty for England's equaliser. Reuters -
Youri Tielemans - 6: The 23-year-old will be a linchpin of this Belgium side for years to come but his manager will be concerned how he and midfield partner Witsel wilted once England had the wind in their sails. AFP -
Axel Witsel - 6: Looked pure silk until Rice nailed him with a crunching tackle just before half time. Went missing there after. Reuters -
Timothy Castagne - 7: Showed why Leicester were prepared to pay big money to bring him to the Premier League. Will be kicking himself for wandering offside that saw Carrasco's early strike ruled out though. AFP -
Yannick Carrasco - 8: Belgium's brightest player as they battered England in the first half and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet before being replaced late on. Reuters -
Kevin de Bruyne - 8: The pass that picked out Carrasco in the second half was precision personified. It deserved a better finish. Reuters -
Romelu Lukaku - 8: The Inter Milan striker was brute force and subtle flicks in the first half before being snuffed out by England's back three in the second. Reuters -
SUBS: Yari Verschaeren (on for De Bruyne) - 5: The 19-year old came on to win a sixth Belgium cap saw little of the ball. Reuters -
Jeremy Doku (on for Carrasco) - NB: The Rennes teenager earned a second cap. EPA
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“We have got to beat Belgium,” Southgate said. “To go to Belgium and win is a difficult task but it is certainly not impossible. We proved that at Wembley.
"They have lost two games in 28 so they are a fantastic team and have proven it over a long period of time but our aim is to be the best team in the world. We have to hunt these teams down. We were able to do it at Wembley.”
Southgate struck a confident tone, citing England’s efforts at both ends of the pitch. They have only scored four goals in four Nations League matches since switching to 3-4-3 but he took solace in an improved defensive record.
“We are not fearful,” he said. “We have players who can hurt teams, who can score and create goals and we have only conceded two goals in nine games.
"The future is so exciting but we have to make sure we are getting results and progressing right now.”
