Harry Kane reminded the world why he’s one of the most reliable strikers on the planet. The England captain scored twice against Croatia on June 17, putting himself level with Gary Lineker as England’s all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.

The brace came in Kane’s 12th World Cup appearance, a milestone that carries extra weight given the caliber of names he’s now standing alongside. Lineker’s record had been the benchmark for English forwards in the tournament for decades. Kane just pulled up next to it like it was inevitable.

The details of Kane’s performance

One of Kane’s two goals came from a retaken penalty. For most strikers, missing a penalty and then having to step up again is a psychological minefield. Kane simply slotted it home, which tells you everything about his temperament under pressure.

The brace brings his combined total for club and country this season to 10 goals. That number spans his time with Bayern Munich and now the 2026 World Cup, which kicked off in mid-June across venues in North America.

Context and career trajectory

Tying Lineker’s World Cup scoring record is significant because it places Kane in a conversation that transcends club football entirely. Lineker scored six goals in the 1986 World Cup alone, winning the Golden Boot in the process. Kane won the same award at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where he scored six goals of his own during the group stage and knockout rounds.

The 2026 tournament represents Kane’s third World Cup. In 2018, he was the tournament’s top scorer. In 2022 in Qatar, England reached the quarterfinals before falling to France, a match in which Kane missed a crucial late penalty. That miss lingered in the public consciousness, which makes his retaken penalty goal against Croatia feel like a small act of exorcism.

What this means for the tournament ahead

For fans and neutral observers, Kane’s pursuit of the outright World Cup scoring record for England adds a narrative thread worth tracking. He’s now level with Lineker, meaning his next World Cup goal would make him the undisputed record holder. Given that England still has group-stage matches to play, that record could fall before the knockout rounds even begin.