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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Simon Mullock

Harry Kane hails 'amazing' Raheem Sterling after duo combine to batter Bulgaria

Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling were both in the goals as England battered Bulgaria to continue their perfect Euro qualifying campaign.

Kane bagged a hat-trick to make it 25 goals in 40 appearances for his country.

Sterling set up the England skipper for his first-half opener – and Kane then smashed home two penalties after the break.

Kane was then the provider when Sterling fired home his seventh goal in seven games after going three years without an international strike.

Kane has now overtaken 1966 World Cup hero Sir Geoff Hurst in England's goalscoring charts.

He said: “Raheem is an amazing player. He set me up for a nice easy one - and I repaid the favour.

Sterling scored for the seventh time in seven games against Bulgaria (Getty Images)

“We enjoy playing together. It's great for him. He has taken his form from club onto the international stage over the last couple of years.”

Gareth Southgate's men now top group A after four successive wins and will virtually guarantee their qualification for next summer's finals if they beat Kosovo at St Mary's on Tuesday night.

Kosovo boosted their own hopes with a surprise 2-1 victory over Czech Republic in Pristina earlier in the day.

Southgate said: “Our performance improved as the game went on.

Kane scored a hat-trick to overtake Sir Geoff Hurst in the goalscoring charts (Offside via Getty Images)

“We can certainly get better - but it was a comprehensive win.

“Bulgaria had some chances and that’s where we need the concentration to be 100 percent.

“I always felt we had enough fire power - but we can improve.”

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