Harry Kane scored twice to equal Gary Lineker’s record of 10 World Cup goals for England. The Bayern Munich striker’s first‑half double propelled the Three Lions to a 4‑2 victory over Croatia in their Group L opener at AT&T Stadium.
Kane opened the scoring in the 12th minute from the penalty spot. His initial effort was saved by goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, but a VAR review determined the Croatian keeper had come off his line. Kane made no mistake with the retake, slamming the ball into the right‑hand corner.
Croatia hit back through Martin Baturina in the 36th minute. The midfielder’s rising strike flew past Jordan Pickford into the top left corner.
Kane restored England’s lead six minutes later. He powered a thunderous header from Declan Rice’s corner into the bottom corner.
The first half ended in disappointment. Petar Musa, who plays for MLS side FC Dallas, beat the offside trap to slot home Ivan Perisic’s clever header on the stroke of half‑time.
ALSO READ:
Haaland wins third Premier League Golden Boot
Heung-Min Son wins September Premier League Player of the Month award
Bellingham and Rashford seal the win
England reclaimed the lead two minutes into the second half. Jude Bellingham collected Elliot Anderson’s long ball, drove into the box and drilled past Livakovic.
Marcus Rashford, introduced as a substitute, added a fourth in the 85th minute. He slotted home from Bukayo Saka’s pass to put the result beyond doubt.
📢 Stay Updated — Join Our WhatsApp Channel
💬 Be Part of Our WhatsApp Community
Join our WhatsApp Channel for curated updates, breaking stories, and exclusive insights from our newsroom.
📲 Join 👉 NRTC WhatsApp Channel
A record to remember
Kane now shares England’s all‑time World Cup scoring record with Gary Lineker. He scored six goals in 2018, two in 2022 and now has two in the 2026 tournament.
Lineker scored his 10 goals across two tournaments: six in Mexico 1986 and four in Italy 1990. Kane is now England’s outright leading goalscorer with 81 international goals.
England face Ghana in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Tuesday. Croatia play Panama in Toronto on the same day.
