Harry Kane capped off his remarkable season in perfect fashion, as his hat-trick sealed German Cup glory for Bayern Munich.
Kane scored three second-half goals as Bayern swept aside Stuttgart in the final at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.
The 32-year-old headed home the opener after 55 minutes and rounded off his treble from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
The pick of his goals was his second, however. After rattling the crossbar from 25 yards, he span Stuttgart’s Chema Andres brilliantly in the box before slotting home.
Kane, mocked for so long for his sparse trophy cabinet, has now added the DFB Pokal to his two Bundesliga winner’s medals.
The 32-year-old scored in every single round of the competition, and his treble in the final took his goal tally for the season to 61 – a return made all the more astonishing by the fact he managed it in only 51 games.
Harry Kane celebrates after heading in the opener during Bayern Munich’s 3-0 German Cup final win over Stuttgart
The England captain is mobbed by his team-mates, including former Liverpool winger Luis Diaz
Kane lifts the German Cup trophy having done the domestic double with Bayern
‘I’m so happy, so proud of the team,’ said Kane at full time. ‘A lot of effort has gone into this season and we wanted to finish with a performance like we did today.
‘To win 3-0 and play the way we did is credit to everyone. I’m so excited, I’m excited for the fans. It’s my first cup and my first experience of (the final in) Berlin, what a way to start.
‘Going into the final I felt it was my responsibility to get us over the line. To score a hat-trick in the final is such a special feeling… I’ll remember it for ever.’
Former Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel will have been delighted by Kane’s performance.
His captain heads into the World Cup as the most in-form striker in Europe. England’s campaign gets underway against Croatia on June 17, and Kane said after the Three Lions’ squad announcement on Friday: ‘I’m extremely proud to be going to another World Cup.
‘I never take these moments for granted, these are the moments I dreamed of growing up.’
