Thirty-six years after Gary Lineker put his name into England’s World Cup record books, Harry Kane stood on the same stage on thursday night and drew level with the legend and he did it with the kind of calmness and brilliance that has defined his entire career.A penalty and a towering header in the first half against Croatia at AT&T Stadium in Arlington took Kane’s World Cup tally to 10 goals, matching the record Lineker set across two tournaments in 1986 and 1990. The record had stood for 36 years. It took Kane barely 42 minutes at his third World Cup to reach it.The first goal was as nervy as the milestone was enormous. Kane stepped up to convert a penalty in the 12th minute, only for the effort to be saved by Dominik Livakovic. But a VAR review determined that the Croatian goalkeeper had moved off his line too early, and with Josko Gvardiol also penalised for encroachment, Kane was handed a retake. This time, the Bayern Munich striker showed no hesitation and sent Livakovic the wrong way and planting the ball into the bottom corner with utter conviction.The second was a study in classical centre-forward play. When Declan Rice curled in a whipped corner from the right in the 42nd minute, Kane peeled away from his marker, timed his run to perfection, and powered a downward header past the helpless Livakovic to make it 2-1. It was his tenth World Cup goal, and the roar from the England faithful inside AT&T Stadium said everything about what it meant.The symmetry with Lineker is striking. Both men won the World Cup Golden Boot – Lineker in Mexico in 1986 with six goals, Kane in Russia in 2018, also with six. Both are among the most lethal and reliable centre-forwards England has ever produced. And now, both share the record for most World Cup goals in a Three Lions shirt.Kane finished the evening with a win as England came from behind twice to win 4-2, with Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford completing the comeback in the second half. But the story of the night in Dallas will always belong to Kane.As England look to end a 60-year major trophy drought stretching back to their iconic 1966 World Cup triumph, Harry Kane will ed to be at the absolute heart of their campaign.
