Soccer
Harry Kane revealed he took motivation from watching Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi make fast starts at the World Cup, following his brace against Croatia.
England took control of Group L with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday, with captain Kane scoring twice in the first half.
Croatia pegged the Three Lions back after both of his goals, but Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford were on target as an improved second-half display saw them take all three points.
Kane’s double – which consisted of a retaken penalty and a bullet header from Declan Rice’s corner – made him just the second England player to score at three World Cups (2018, 2022 and 2026), after David Beckham (1998, 2002, 2006).
And the striker also tied Gary Lineker as England’s all-time leading goalscorer at World Cups, with 10 goals (six in 2018, two in 2022, two in 2026).
After the game, Kane was asked whether he had taken inspiration from a series of big-name performances on the previous day at the tournament.
During Tuesday’s games, Mbappe netted twice in a 3-1 victory over Senegal to become France’s all-time leading scorer, also moving within just two goals of the World Cup goal record, which at that point, was held solely by Miroslav Klose.
Haaland then produced a brace of his own during Norway’s 4-1 rout of Iraq in the same group, extending his scoring streak in competitive internationals to 11 straight games.
But Messi outdid them both with a hat-trick in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Algeria, matching Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals and becoming the oldest-ever player to net a treble at the finals, at the age of 38.
And Kane admitted he wanted to keep pace with those other superstars, saying: “Obviously I saw the guys scoring their goals and I don’t like to concentrate too much on other people.
“But I think it’s natural – as a sportsman, as an athlete – to try and reach the highest levels and obviously all those guys started in a great way.
“I think as a striker, obviously I want to get on the scoresheet as early as possible, so I think in the back of my mind, that competition helps me to push my levels.
“You know, that’s what the World Cup is for, for the best players to perform at the highest levels, so it was nice to get a couple, for sure.”
England have won their opening game at three consecutive World Cup tournaments for the very first time, with this their 17th participation at the finals.
Ghana now await them on matchday two, at Boston Stadium on Tuesday, before they conclude Group L by facing Panama four days later.
And Kane said everyone in the Three Lions’ camp had been desperate to get out on the pitch after watching the other games at the tournament.
“We’ve been waiting long enough to just play the game,” Kane added. “We had to wait six days, so I think everyone’s just been itching to get out there.”
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