Again defended against questions about his age and toughness, Harry Kane scored two golden goals in golden boots on a night when he was given a golden cap. He was redeemed for the umpteenth time.

Kane became the tenth player in England’s history to play 100 games when he started this Nations League win over Finland at Wembley. Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard, two other England veterans, gave him a golden cap to honor the achievement before the game.

The England captain needed a goal to make the game more exciting, especially since he hadn’t played well in the European Championship over the summer and had been slow against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday, which made some people want to drop him.

Those calls were crazy. Kane has been proving critics wrong throughout a long and successful international career. He did it again on Tuesday by scoring two beautiful goals in the second half to break Finland’s stubborn resistance.

He scored his 67th and 68th goals for his country, which is an amazing number by any measure. Kane had said before the game that he wanted to score 100 goals to go along with his 100 caps. It would be silly to bet against him because he scores goals all the time for both his club and his country.

It was his night. With his 100th game and two goals, the story moved on from Lee Carsley’s ongoing tryout as temporary England manager. People were upset that Carsley didn’t sing the national song before Saturday’s game in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland. This was the boss’s night to let his captain have the spotlight.

Still, Carsley has won two games out of two, though both were against average teams. There’s not much else he could do to please. Kane was the best, but Trent Alexander-Arnold was also great. Some people still think that Carsley’s new start is good.

He’s not afraid to do things in a new way. One hour before the game, Carsley went out on the field by himself and carefully lined up a row of footballs on the grass. This was done before Wembley said its emotional goodbyes to former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died last month.

He looked at his watch every so often. For a moment, he stood with his arms crossed over his chest and watched one of the big screens as Jack Grealish scored England’s second goal in their 2-0 win over Ireland in Dublin.

Carsley stood there with his arms still crossed for a while, looking around the stadium as if it were getting full. He watched the goalkeepers warm up while he waited for the rest of his England players to come out of the tunnel.

After giving Kane their presents, Carsley’s team went about their work methodically and surely. The Finns made threats now and then, but they were never going to ruin Kane’s night.

Gaffer Gordon, who was a constant threat early on, turned his full-back one way and then the other and floated a cross to the back post, where Kane was waiting unchecked. Kane should have scored to celebrate his 100th cap in the first four minutes.

Kane wasn’t sure whether to go for the goal or head the ball across the six-yard box to Bukayo Saka for once. He decided to be kind, but the Finland defense cut off his nod down before it could reach the Arsenal wide player.

Kane did take a shot in the middle of the half, but Finland’s Lukas Hradecky saved it well. The ball got loose, and Finland quickly broke. Topi Keskinen fired a shot just wide.

That wasn’t often that England’s opponents went forward. It was pretty much the only time they got out of their half, and their crowded defense made it hard for Carsley’s team to score, except for a Kane header that was called offside.

England’s game had some mistakes here and there. Declan Rice got caught dribbling the ball deep in his half, and Keskinen missed a great chance to set Teemu Pukki free with a simple pass. Pukki then shot high and wide.

Gomes did a great job in the middle of the pitch, and he was especially good at tackling when England needed to get the ball back. The home team was more dangerous when Trent Alexander-Arnold moved from right back to midfield. This happened more often as the half went on because it turned into a fight of attrition.

After Rico Lewis sent him a square pass on the edge of the area, Alexander-Arnold became the main threat four minutes before halftime. He took it and drilled a low shot across Hradecky and just past the right post.

At the start of the break, Gomes was tripped on the edge of the area. Alexander-Arnold took the free kick and curled the ball around the wall. The crowd was expecting the net to get bigger, but it didn’t.

Following the break, Grealish was caught on the edge of the box. Kane’s eyes lit up, and he smashed the free kick over the wall. But Hradecky was up to the task. He dove to his right and hit the ball hard enough to push it out before it was hit clear.

But England began to make more chances now. Gordon was set free on the left side by a quick pass that put him right through Hradecky. The Newcastle winger hit the keeper with the ball, but Hradecky stopped it with his body.

After one minute, the England captain tried an overhead kick that Hradecky saved, but just as it looked like he might not get the goal he really wanted to mark his 100th cap, Kane scored to put England ahead.

As Kane stood on the side of the Finland area with his back to the goal, Alexander-Arnold played the ball to him. But he scored the goal himself.

As Robert Ivanov tried to close in on Kane, Kane turned and flicked the ball through Ivanov’s legs. Kane ran after the ball and hit a shot that Hradecky couldn’t stop. It went over him and in off the ground of the bar.

Kane spun around with joy and punched the air while his friends surrounded him. His family was very happy up in the stands. In the stands, Carsley clenched his hand with happiness. Kane scored, and the game was no longer tied.