Gary Lineker's 36-year record falls: Harry Kane cements his legacy as England's greatest ever World Cup striker

Harry Kane had barely touched the ball in the first half. Ten touches. A game-low. The pressure was building, the critics were sharpening their pens, and England were staring at a nervy evening in their final group match against Panama.And then, as he has done so many times before, Kane delivered when it mattered most.Kane scored his 11th career World Cup goal in the 67th minute against Panama on Saturday, breaking a tie with Gary Lineker. He outjumped Andrés Andrade and headed a ball past diving goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera to give England a 2-0 lead. The record that had stood for decades, Lineker's ten World Cup goals spanning 1986 and 1990, belonged to England's captain now.

Kane nodded home from a Bellingham cross to make it 2-0, taking him to 11 World Cup goals. It also took Kane to 18 goals in major international tournaments for England overall.It was Kane's 82nd goal playing for England internationally, adding to his own record. After scoring twice in the opener against Croatia on June 17, Kane now stands at three goals in this tournament going into the knockout stage.The goal had a beautiful symmetry to it. It was against Panama where Kane had written his name into England folklore back in 2018 as well, becoming the first Englishman to score a World Cup hat-trick since Gary Lineker himself in 1986 the very man whose record he has now broken.

And Lineker, for his part, was magnanimous. The former England striker described Kane as the "greatest English striker we've ever had" after his brace in England's opening match of the tournament.Kane is now joint eighth on the all-time World Cup goalscorers list, level with Hungary's Sándor Kocsis and Germany's Jürgen Klinsmann at 11 goals. With the Golden Boot race heating up, Kane sits just two goals behind Lionel Messi, who leads the standings with five.His Golden Boot odds improved from +1400 to +1200 following Sunday's performance, trailing only Messi and Kylian Mbappe.England, which won its only World Cup at home in 1966, reached the knockout rounds for the seventh time in eight World Cups with the victory.