Harry Kane turned out to be England’s saviour in a comeback win over DR Congo in a Round of 32 clash. England staged a second-half fightback at Atlanta Stadium, with Kane scoring twice in 11 minutes to overturn Brian Cipenga‘s early strike and set up a last-16 tie with Mexico. He headed home from close range to level the tie in the 75th minute before a ferocious drive four minutes from time sparked jubilant celebrations. With his team teetering on the brink and the Central Africans dreaming of causing a historic upset, Kane stepped up to deliver the goods yet again.
Kane has now netted 13 World Cup finals goals, climbing above Pele and drawing level with Just Fontaine, who scored all of his in a single tournament in 1958. The England ace stands behind five legendary names in the all-time scoring charts: Lionel Messi (19), Kylian Mbappe (18), Miroslav Klose (16), Ronaldo Nazario (15), and Gerd Muller (14).
After his heroics for England against DR Congo, an old video of him with Argentine legend Diego Maradona resurfaced. In the video, Maradona can be heard telling Kane: “Don’t always go near post with your shots. Go across goal sometimes. You know why? Goalkeepers watch you on TV all the time.”
Aleluya anotó Harry #Kane … y #Maradona festejando #UCL pic.twitter.com/ipej0LjZko
— Tomás Colombo, Arq. (@Tomas_M_C) April 30, 2024
He became the first player to score twice in a World Cup knockout match for England since Gary Lineker against Cameroon in the 1990 quarter-finals. Head coach Thomas Tuchel unsurprisingly heaped praise on Kane. “Harry is our captain. He’s our leader. He decides football matches with unbelievable finishes and did it here twice. The second one was just a brilliant goal.”
Quizzed about the string of superstar sharpshooters who are setting this year’s FIFA World Cup alight, from Kane to Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Messi, the German tactician pointed to their predatory instincts as a common denominator: “They’re all sharks. If they smell blood, they come and score.”
Midfielder Declan Rice was equally effusive in his praise for his captain. “He’s just ridiculous; he’s got 72 goals this season, I think – that’s just not normal. Those are ridiculous numbers. He’s a proper leader, a captain. He trains every day and gets on with everyone in the group. When you have someone who can win a game for you like that… That second goal, he just reverse-whips it into the top corner, and it was ridiculous to see. What a player. We’re very lucky to have him.”