Harry Kane closes in on all-time England World Cup records after matching Gary Lineker and David Beckham

Harry Kane wrote his name in England’s football history books with a first-half brace in a 4-2 win against Croatia on Wednesday (17 June), bringing his FIFA World Cup goal tally to 10.

The Bayern Munich marksman has now matched Gary Lineker’s record for most goals scored by an England player at the World Cup, which has stood since 1990. He will have at least two more chances to overtake his compatriot for the standalone accolade in the Group L games against Ghana (23 June) and Panama (27 June).

Kane’s first goal against Croatia came from the penalty spot at the second attempt, after goalkeeper Dominik Livaković was penalised for coming off his line before the penalty was taken. He made no mistake with the retaken penalty, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to open the scoring for England.

After Croatia's Martin Baturina levelled the scoring on 36 minutes, Kane restored England’s lead just before half-time, meeting Declan Rice’s corner with a perfectly placed header into the bottom corner that saw him match Lineker's England goalscoring record.

It wasn’t the only record matched by the 32-year-old in the match against Croatia. He also drew level with David Beckham as the only Englishmen to score at three different FIFA World Cup tournaments.

“I feel at my best level and at my peak right now,” Kane told BBC Sport at full time.

“I think it was important to start the tournament well. In the first game you want to get on the board as a striker for sure; everyone was itching to get out there – me included – so it’s nice to start with this win.”

At the World Cup in North America, Kane has the opportunity to break another record by becoming the first player to win the Golden Boot on two occasions, after he first collected the accolade eight years ago.

He will likely face stiff competition from the likes of Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland, both of whom scored braces in their respective openers, while Lionel Messi also made a stunning start to the tournament with his hat-trick in Argentina's opener against Algeria.

With Kane's appearance tally at the World Cup now standing at 12 following England’s win over Croatia, he has the opportunity to move joint-second for all-time World Cup appearances for the Three Lions.

Goalkeeping great Peter Shilton is out in front with 17, a figure Kane could beat if England reach the semi-finals.

Click here to read article