Gary Lineker offered Harry Kane his congratulations after the England captain broke one of his predecessor's long-standing World Cup records. The Three Lions advanced to the knockout round as winners of Group L following a routine 2-0 win against Panama.
Match details
England, who made five changes to their starting XI, were frustrated in the first half by opponents ranked 58th in the world. Thomas Tuchel resisted the temptation to make changes at the break, and his faith was rewarded just past the hour mark when Bukayo Saka's corner was hooked home by Jude Bellingham.
The Real Madrid superstar turned provider five minutes later when he twisted away from a defender and delivered the perfect cross for Harry Kane, who headed home from close range. Kane's goal, his third of the tournament so far, was his 11th overall on the biggest stage, moving him one ahead of Lineker.
Reaction from co-hosts
Lineker's The Rest Is Football co-host Micah Richards, appearing on the Netflix show via video link, celebrated by saying: 'Harry, Harry I absolutely love you. Gary is no more, he's not relevant any more, he's irrelevant.' Lineker retorted: 'Shut the f*** up will you,' and hit the off button on his remote before deciding to bring Richards back. 'I'll let you back because it's really late there,' said Lineker, who scored 10 World Cup goals for England at the 1986 and 1990 tournaments.
Kane's message
Speaking after his latest goalscoring exploits, Kane was asked if he had a message for the former England skipper and said: 'Sorry Gary, I'm one ahead of you now. I'm sure he'll send some congratulations and I've said before one of England's greatest strikers, especially in World Cups. To go ahead of him now is a proud moment for myself and I'm sure he'll be happy for me.'
Lineker was indeed happy for a player who has time and again delivered for England. He said: 'Thank you very much Harry, sincere congratulations, absolutely. I genuinely mean it I'm thrilled for it. Forty years is a long time I am kind of bored of it. I couldn't be more thrilled that it's Harry Kane.'
Bellingham's praise
Bellingham, who also caught the eye against Panama, echoed Lineker's sentiments and described Kane as 'the best England player of all time'. With three goals during the group stage, Kane will be eyeing a tilt at winning the Golden Boot for a record second time as he remains in a contest with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Erling Haaland and Vinicius Jr.
'I have built a good relationship with Harry over the last four or five years, especially after Qatar, playing so close together,' Bellingham said. 'It is an honour to play with him. For me he is the best England player of all time, he is the one who has showed up more than anyone, more than any other England player. It is quite easy to play with him in all honesty, he is at a level at the minute which is just incredible. You don't doubt him at all, in terms of whether he is involved or not, he is going to make a difference in the game and he did.'
