England captain surpasses Gary Lineker’s World Cup scoring record and says he hopes to add more milestones as the knockout stage begins….reports London Daily News Desk
England captain Harry Kane expressed pride after becoming his country’s highest-ever goalscorer at the FIFA World Cup but insisted he is far from finished, saying he hopes to add to his tally as England continue their campaign at the 2026 tournament.
Kane reached the milestone during England’s 2-0 victory over Panama in their final Group L match at New Jersey Stadium on Sunday. Jude Bellingham opened the scoring shortly after the hour mark before providing the cross for Kane to power home a header and register his 11th World Cup goal, taking him past Gary Lineker’s long-standing record of 10.
The Bayern Munich striker said the achievement ranked among the biggest moments of his international career because of the prestige of the World Cup.
“It is a proud one for sure,” Kane said after the match. “I spoke before the tournament about the World Cup being the biggest competition we play as professional footballers, so to get to 11 goals is a proud feeling.”
Despite reaching another historic landmark, the England skipper said his focus remained firmly on helping the team progress further in the tournament.
“I just want to enjoy this moment with the team, enjoy being top of the table,” he said. “I never take these moments for granted. Another good milestone to hit and I hope it is not the last one in this tournament.”
England secured top spot in Group L with a composed second-half display after being frustrated by Panama for much of the opening period. Bellingham eventually broke the deadlock with a close-range volley from Bukayo Saka’s corner before turning provider four minutes later with a teasing cross that Kane headed beyond goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera.
Reflecting on the performance, Kane praised Panama for making life difficult for England and admitted the Three Lions had to be patient before finding the breakthrough.
“It was a solid performance again against a tricky side,” he said. “They have fast, tricky players and had moments.”
“Overall we controlled it pretty well. The first half we were maybe a little bit sloppy in the final third but we got better in the second half. We would have liked to see out the game a little bit easier.”
The latest goal adds another remarkable chapter to Kane’s international career. Heading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, he needed three goals to surpass Lineker’s record. He moved level with the former England captain after scoring twice against Croatia in England’s tournament opener in Dallas before making history against Panama.
Lineker had set the benchmark during England’s run to the quarter-finals at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, where he claimed the Golden Boot with six goals, before adding four more during the 1990 tournament in Italy.
Kane’s own World Cup journey began in Russia in 2018, where he enjoyed a dream debut tournament by scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot as England reached the semi-finals. He followed that with two goals at Qatar 2022, finding the net against Senegal in the Round of 16 and France in the quarter-finals.
His strike against Panama was his 82nd goal for England in 117 international appearances, further extending his lead as the country’s all-time leading men’s goalscorer. Kane also ranks joint fourth on England’s all-time appearances list and has played a central role in the national team’s recent successes, including reaching the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the finals of UEFA Euro 2020 and UEFA Euro 2024.
With England safely through to the knockout stage as Group L winners, Kane now has the opportunity to extend both his World Cup scoring record and his overall international goal tally as the Three Lions pursue their first World Cup title since 1966.
