Kane saves England at the death to deny brave Scotland

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had given England the lead in the 70th minute after some poor Scotland defending, but Griffiths picked the perfect moment to break his international duck in his 13th cap.

The Celtic player curled 25-yard free-kicks into either corner of Joe Hart's net within three minutes, the second in the final minute of the 90.

However, Kane netted from close range three minutes into time added on to seal a 2-2 draw and maintain England's eight-year unbeaten run in qualifying matches as they stayed on course for a place in Russia.

Kane reflected on a "sweet" end to his first game as England captain.

"It (the goal) is definitely up at the top, it was a special day," Kane said on ITV1.

"It looked like we were going to win the game and then like we were going to lose when 2-1 down in stoppage time.

"To get the goal was special.

"I was just thinking to get good contact on it, I did not know whether the keeper was going to come, so when I saw him stay on his line... what a ball it in was, and it was just a good sidefoot into the net."

Well the end didn't go with the rest of the game! A draw a fair result. Two poor sides on the day. #ScoEng

— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) June 10, 2017

England trained with the Royal Marines in the build up to the match, and Kane praised the determination of the squad.

He added: "We said we had to expect the unexpected. We were in control at 1-0 up and then all of a sudden 2-1 down and it looks as if you are going away losers.

"You have to somehow find another gear and now it is not a bad point away from home.

"Obviously we wanted to win the game, there is no doubt about that, but we got a point, are still top of the (qualifying) league .

"Scotland is no easy place to come, and especially when you are 2-1 down in stoppage time, it makes it that much sweeter.

"I definitely did not want to lose in my first game as skipper, so to get that goal, it is a good day for us and a very proud day for me as well."

Scotland's Leigh Griffiths celebrates scoring his side's second goal. Picture: PA

Griffiths felt Scotland had done themselves proud, despite not being able to hold on for what would have been a famous win.

"At 1-0 down against England, it is always going to be a tough ask to get back into the game, but we showed resilience and what we are all about by getting ourselves back into it and then into the lead," he said on ITV1.

"But you cant switch off against this England side, because they will punish you and that is what they did in the end.

"We have to keep the ball better, because we were (breaking) in a three-on-one attack. If we had kept the ball better going towards their goal we might have nicked the three points, but you can't switch off against this England side with guys like Harry Kane up top.

"We proved that on our day we can match anybody.

"We know how good this England side are, playing them at Wembley in November we didn't do ourselves justice, but today we showed what we are all about."

The Celtic man added: "I am delighted to get off the mark for Scotland, in what could have been a great win, but in the end this could be a great point for us.

"We have four games left and we could win all of them."

HOW THEY RATED

SCOTLAND

CRAIG GORDON: The Celtic goalkeeper was almost made to pay for a poor clearance by Harry Kane and his 30-yard effort was going in until Kieran Tierney cleared off the line. Gordon made saves from Dele Alli, Adam Lallana, Jake Livermore and Kane but could have done better with both England goals. 6

KIERAN TIERNEY: The Celtic left-back had to play with a gum shield following a mouth injury in the William Hill Scottish Cup. Asked to play on the left side of a back three, the 20-year old cleared a Harry Kane effort off the line on the half-hour and got in some crucial tackles. 7

CHRISTOPHE BERRA: Came in for Russell Martin in defence to handle Harry Kane. Had a decent afternoon but allowed the Spurs striker to spoil the party. 6

CHARLIE MULGREW: A calming presence in central defence, organising when England enjoyed long spells of possession and pressure. 7

ANDY ROBERTSON: Deployed as left wing-back he worked the flank well. Missed a great chance just before the hour mark when he blasted over the crossbar. 6

SCOTT BROWN: The Scotland and Celtic skipper was subject to some debate about the level of his abilities this week. Booked in the third minute which led to some caution thereafter. 6

JAMES MORRISON: Took a knock after just a few minutes which seemed to curtail him. Couldn't get into the game and was hooked at the interval. 5

STUART ARMSTRONG: His debut against Slovenia in Scotland's last match was described as the best ever in dark blue by manager Gordon Strachan. The first half passed him by and he was unable to exert his usual influence but he improved after the break. 6

ROBERT SNODGRASS: Struggled to link up with his team-mates in a frustrating game where little went his way. There was no surprise when he made way for Ryan Fraser in the second half. 5

IKECHI ANYA: Took over from James Forrest and played right wing-back. Got down the flank in the first half with some success and contributed in defence. Was replaced by Chris Martin in the closing stages as the home side went for broke. 7

LEIGH GRIFFITHS: After 12 caps without a goal there was some pressure on the prolific Celtic striker to produce and he most certainly did. Worked hard in the lone striker's role and chased down the England defence. His first two goals in a dark blue shirt, both from free-kicks, set Hampden alight for several minutes before Harry Kane popped up with the added-time leveller. 9

SUBSTITUTES

JAMES MCARTHUR: Replaced Morrison for the start of the second half and worked hard to get Scotland back into the game. 6

RYAN FRASER: Came on for Snodgrass in the 66th minute and won the free-kick from which Griffiths levelled. 5

CHRIS MARTIN: Came on for Ikechi Anya with ten minutes remaining but did not have much of an impact. 5

ENGLAND

JOE HART: Back from a loan spell at Torino, had little to do until the dying stages when he was beaten twice by Leigh Griffiths free-kicks. The first one certainly looked preventable. 5

KYLE WALKER: Tottenham's marauding right-back produced a fine display at Hampden Park, providing an outlet on the attack as well as a sturdy defensive presence. 7

CHRIS SMALLING: Selected ahead of John Stones, the Manchester United defender proved capable of the odd mistake but largely looked solid. 6

GARY CAHILL: Such a sturdy, imposing presence for Chelsea this term, he did okay until giving a needless late free-kick away. 6

RYAN BERTRAND: Southampton's left-back has established himself under Gareth Southgate and did his job diligently at Hampden Park. 6

JAKE LIVERMORE: A surprise starter despite impressing in Germany, the West Brom midfielder was impressive both in possession and out of it. Booked late in first half but kept his cool. 7

ERIC DIER: The defensive midfielder showed a nice eye for a pass as well as protecting the back-line. 6

ADAM LALLANA: England's reigning player of the year's close control had Scotland on edge, but he just lacked the cutting edge of his previous game. 7

DELE ALLI: The PFA Young Player of the Year was unable to have as much of a say on proceedings as he would have liked. 6

MARCUS RASHFORD: The 19-year-old was handed just his second England start and came close to a first-half opener, only to tire and be withdrawn early in the second half. 6

HARRY KANE: Captaining the side for the first time, the Spurs striker came to the rescue in stoppage time with an outstanding strike. 7

SUBSTITUTES

ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN (for Rashford, 65): His introduction quickly paid dividends, scoring a superb opener after coming on. 7

RAHEEM STERLING (for Alli, 84): Produced a superb cross that was met by an even better strike from Kane for the equaliser. 7

JERMAIN DEFOE (Livermore, 90): Had no time to make an impact. 6

England's Harry Kane applauds supporters after the final whistle ​

HARRY KANE IN FOCUS

Harry Kane captained England for the first time as they snatched a 2-2 draw with Scotland at Hampden Park in a World Cup qualifier.

Here, Press Association Sport assesses how the 23-year-old fared as he led the team out after a prolific season.

WORK-RATE

Making his first appearance for England since September 2016 due to injury, Kane was keen to make up for lost time but found himself doing more defending than attacking in the early stages. As Scotland applied pressure, the striker worked back to defend corners with one key clearing header after 10 minutes. With his own scoring chances limited, Kane was willing to chase long balls and create chances for others. He linked up well with Adam Lallana and Jake Livermore, forcing saves from Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon in the first half. Like all good players he kept going to the final minute where he made his most important contribution.

GOALSCORING

The Tottenham striker scored 35 goals in all competitions this season, finishing the Premier League season with a flurry, but it looked like he would not add to his total until his last-gasp intervention at Hampden. After winning a late free-kick, Kane hung back as it was cleared and capitalised on a deep cross with a poacher's finish, rescuing a point for his country. His first chance of the game came after great control from an Eric Dier pass but he scuffed his shot high over the crossbar. Around 15 minutes later he was unlucky to see a shot from 30 yards cleared off the line after the striker tried to capitalise on Gordon's weak clearing header. The 23-year-old had a quieter second half by his own high standards but pulled England back into the match.

OVERALL

Kane spoke before the game of his pride at taking the captaincy and will be delighted to avoid defeat with such a late equaliser. The striker will now be hoping for an injury-free season to fire England to the World Cup and add to his six international goals.