Kane surpasses Lineker's England World Cup record with 11th goal against Panama

Harry Kane broke Gary Lineker’s record for the most World Cup goals scored by an England player on Wednesday, netting his 11th strike at the tournament during England’s group-stage match against Panama at the 2026 World Cup.

Lineker had held the record since 1990, accumulating 10 goals across the 1986 and 1990 tournaments — six in Mexico and four in Italy. Kane eclipsed that tally with a 67th-minute header, his third goal of the current competition, after Jude Bellingham had broken the deadlock for the Three Lions.

The Bayern Munich forward had arrived at the 2026 World Cup in strong form, opening his account with a first-half brace against Croatia — a penalty, converted at the second attempt, followed by a free header. He then went 150 minutes without scoring before ending that brief drought against Panama.

Kane’s World Cup record now spans three tournaments. At the 2018 edition in Russia, he claimed the Golden Boot with six goals: a hat-trick against Panama, a brace against Tunisia, and a penalty against Colombia. He added two more at the 2022 tournament in Qatar — one in a 3-0 win over Senegal and a penalty in a 2-1 defeat to France.

The 11-goal haul places Kane joint eighth on the all-time World Cup scoring list, level with Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis and Germany’s Jurgen Klinsmann.

With three goals at the 2026 tournament, Kane has also moved into contention for the Golden Boot, sitting two goals behind current leader Lionel Messi, who has five. Messi has never won the award despite his prolific record — he fell one goal short of Kylian Mbappé’s winning tally of eight in 2022. Lineker won the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup, finishing one ahead of Diego Maradona.