Kane has now scored 265 Spurs goals, one behind the legendary Greaves.

Oliver Skipp fired over a great chance to add a second goal but the League One visitors had no reply to Kane's strike.

With Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison and Lucas Moura among a growing Spurs injury list, Antonio Conte was forced to start Kane and Son Heung-min in a strong forward line despite making eight changes overall.

Spurs had scored just one first-half goal in their previous 12 games and never looked like adding to that during a quiet opening 45 minutes in north London, failing to register a single shot on target.

Indeed, Portsmouth, cheered on by a sold-out allocation of more than 8,000 noisy visiting fans, created the first half's best effort as Reeco Hackett-Fairchild's acrobatic shot on the turn was pushed wide by Fraser Forster.

However, Spurs stepped things up following the restart and, just after Royal headed Son's deep cross on to the post, Kane produced the moment of magic that ultimately proved decisive.