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 what ultimately turned out to be a routine 2-0 win against Panama.
England, who made five changes to their starting XI, were frustrated in the first-half by opponents who were 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.
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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, created a little bit of personal history given it was his 11th overall on the biggest stage and moved him one ahead of Lineker, much to the delight of his The Rest Is Football co-host Micah Richards.
‘Harry, Harry I absolutely love you,’ said the former Manchester City defender who was appearing on the Netflix show via video link. ‘Gary is no more, he’s not relevant any more, he’s irrelevant.’
”Shut the f*** up will you,’ retorted Lineker who 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 his country at the 1986 and 1990 tournaments.
Speaking after his latest goalscoring exploits, meanwhile, 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 and offers them arguably their best chance of finally winning a first World Cup since 1966.
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, 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,’ he 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.’