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| Harry Kane of England battles with Remo Freuler (left) and Fabian Fre during the international friendly match between England and Switzerland at Wembley Stadium on March 26, 2022 in London, United Kingdom. |
Harry Kane edged closer to England's all-time scoring record as Gareth Southgate's side began World Cup preparations with a comeback win against Switzerland.
Just a matter of days before finding out their opponents in Qatar, England kicked off an international year unlike any other in front of a sell-out crowd at Wembley on Saturday evening.
Switzerland, ranked 14th in the world, made life difficult for England and took the lead through Breel Embolo, only for the stuttering hosts to level against the run of play as Luke Shaw struck just before half-time.
An unremarkable friendly came to a triumphant conclusion for England as Kane's penalty secured a 2-1 victory, putting him level with Bobby Charlton on 49 international goals and within four of Wayne Rooney's record.
Saturday's friendly saw Southgate try different formations and personnel at the start of a year he hopes to end by winning the World Cup at the Lusail Stadium on 18 December.
The first-half performance will have concerned the England boss, with Embolo scoring a header before Jordan Pickford superbly tipped a Fabian Frei strike onto the bar and Xherdan Shaqiri hit the post from a corner.
England were struggling for coherency but eked out an equaliser before the break, with debutant Kyle Walker-Peters intercepting and Conor Gallagher crossing for Shaw to thump home his first goal since the Euro 2020 final.
Substitutions took the sting out of the second period but the hosts had improved and Steven Zuber was adjudged to have handled after a video assistant review, leading to Kane striking home the resulting penalty.
