Harry Kane scored twice, equalled Gary Lineker’s record of 10 World Cup goals and was named man of the match — but the England captain spent the final stages of Wednesday’s 4-2 win over Croatia clutching his calf, strapped heavily beneath his sock.
The 32-year-old opened the scoring in Dallas with a retaken penalty and powered in a header three minutes before half-time. Yet by the final whistle, as Jude Bellingham sealed the victory with a goal early in the second half, Kane’s fitness had become a secondary focus. He later issued an injury update, though neither he nor manager Thomas Tuchel provided details on the severity of the problem.
“Kane equals Lineker's World Cup goals record but limps off with calf injury, sparking fitness fears.”
Lineker, who reached his own 10-goal milestone across the 1986 and 1990 tournaments, welcomed Kane to the “double-figures club” on The Rest is Football podcast. “It may have taken him a World Cup more,” joked the 65-year-old former Match of the Day presenter. “In all seriousness, Harry Kane is, I think, the greatest English striker we’ve ever had. I genuinely think that now.”
Kane now has 81 goals in 115 appearances for England — a record that leaves Wayne Rooney (53), Sir Bobby Charlton (49) and Lineker (48) in his wake. Alan Shearer, who scored 30 times for England, noted that Kane had witnessed Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland all score on the same day. “It’s only a matter of time before he breaks your record,” Shearer told Lineker.
Harry Maguire, left out of Tuchel’s squad, called Kane “one of the best players in the world” and praised his leadership off the pitch. But the drama did not end with the final whistle. Kane’s wife Katie greeted him with a kiss; Bellingham received a warm hug from his father Mark and a kiss from his partner Ashlyn Castro. Jordan Pickford’s wife Megan, having lost her suitcase en route to Dallas, posted on social media: “No suitcase mishap was going to stop me supporting my husband.”
England face Ghana on 23 June in their second Group L game. Tuchel gave those who played a day off to rest; the unused substitutes were due a warm-down session in Kansas. Whether Kane will be among them remains to be seen.