Jude Bellingham called Harry Kane the greatest England player of all time and said no one had “shown more” for his country after the pair scored in a 2-0 win over Panama to win the 2026 World Cup Group L.
Real Madrid’s Bellingham broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute before crossing for Kane to break Gary Lineker’s record of 10 goals for England in a final, netting 82 goals abroad to take 29 clear of any other Three Lions player in history.
“I’ve developed a good relationship with Harry over the last four or five years,” Bellingham said. “It’s an honor to play with him.
“He is the best English player of all people. He is the most visible of all – more than all the English players.
“It’s easy to play with him. He’s at an amazing level, right now. You have no doubts about him … that he’s going to make a difference in the game and he did again today.”
Most World Cup goals: Where does Harry Kane stand?
Only seven players have scored more World Cup goals than Kane, including 2026 top scorer Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, who started well in the finals in France.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored the most goals in international football, has two in the final and 10 overall in the competition.
| The player | The team | Goals | The same |
| Lionel Messi | In Argentina | 18 | 28 |
| Kylian Mbappe | France | 16 | 17 |
| Miroslav Klose | In Germany | 16 | 24 |
| Ronaldo | Brazil | 15 | 19 |
| Gerd Müller | West Germany | 14 | 13 |
| Only Fontaine | France | 13 | 6 |
| First | Brazil | 12 | 14 |
| Jurgen Klinsmann | West Germany/Germany | 11 | 17 |
| Sandor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 | 5 |
| Harry Kane | In England | 11 | 14 |
World Cup 2026: Harry Kane in goals for England
Kane described his latest mark as “one he’s proud to achieve” and praised Bellingham for “another top performance”.
“Jude looks fit, he looks sharp and it looks like he’s desperate to show the world what kind of player he is,” the Bayern Munich striker told ITV.
“His effort – running non-stop, tackling, tracking back – is the type of player we want in our team.” Jude is an amazing runner with and without the ball.
“He runs in behind from deep and it’s hard to follow him, he’s strong, he’s physical, he’s a fantastic player all around.
“Jude had a great game and a great cross, he just put it down. I was waiting for this the whole game, to cross to my man.
“It was nice to see it come in and let’s hope it’s not the last one in this tournament.”
2026 World Cup: What next for England and Harry Kane?
England will follow in the last 32 match against DR Congo. Here are their results, fixtures and potential schedule.
| The day | Compare | The result | The stage | Time (BST) | ET | PT | The channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 17 | Croatia | 4-2 | The group | 21:00 | 16:00 | 13:00 | ITV |
| June 23 | Ghana | 0-0 | The group | 21:00 | 16:00 | 13:00 | BBC |
| June 27 | in Panama | 2-0 | The group | 22:00 | 17:00 | 14:00 | ITV |
| July 1 | DR Congo | Round 32 | 17:00 | 12:00 | 09:00 | BBC | |
| July 6 | TBC | Round 16 | 01:00 | 20:00* | 15:00* | BBC | |
| July 11 | TBC | Quarter-final | 22:00 | 17:00 | 14:00 | ITV | |
| July 15 | TBC | Semi-finalist | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 | BBC | |
| July 18 | TBC | Third place match | 22:00 | 17:00 | 12:00 | TBC | |
| July 19 | TBC | Finally | 20:00 | 15:00 | 10:00 | BBC, ITV |
World Cup 2026: Team England vs Panama
There was talk of Kane being rested but the 32-year-old was not among England’s five changes since they drew 0-0 with Ghana last Tuesday.
Reece James is expected to miss two games due to injury while Djed Spence, Noni Madueke, Declan Rice and Anthony Gordon have moved to the bench.
In came Nico O’Reilly, Jarell Quansah, Morgan Rogers, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford.
England starting XI: Jordan Pickford, Ezri Konsa, Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi, Jarell Quansah, Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers, Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford
England substitute: Dean Henderson, James Trafford, John Stones, Trevoh Chalobah, Dan Burn, Djed Spence, Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson, Kobbie Mainoo, Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Ollie Watkins, Noni Madueke, Ivan Toney
