Kane props up England again

Harry Kane is England's talisman, record goalscorer and, often, its savior. Is he also its only hope at the World Cup?

The captain came up with the goods yet again against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta on Wednesday, scoring twice in 11 minutes, as Thomas Tuchel's men recovered from a shocking start to win 2-1.

The Bayern Munich star headed a superb equalizer from Anthony Gordon's cross in the 75th minute and thumped home the winner with four minutes remaining.

Kane now has five goals at the 2026 World Cup, one behind Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe and level with Erling Haaland in a captivating race for the Golden Boot.

His 12th and 13th World Cup goals in the round of 32 moved him ahead of Pele's dozen, up to sixth on the all-time list, level with France forward Just Fontaine and six behind Messi.

A relieved Tuchel described Kane as being one of the "sharks" at the World Cup, alongside the other A-list forwards.

"They are all sharks," he said. "If they smell blood, they come and score."

"It's crazy," the German added. "So, so good. He's our captain, he's our leader, and decides football matches with unbelievable finishes."

Kane, who has few equals as a finisher, has a remarkable 72 goals for club and country this season in just 62 appearances.

Midfielder Declan Rice told the BBC that his skipper was posting "ridiculous numbers".

"He is a proper leader, a captain, trains every day and gets on with everyone in the group," he said.

"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."

'Hero moment'

Kane himself said it was his day for "hero moments", as England now looks forward to a last-16 match against Mexico at the iconic Azteca Stadium.

"We spoke about people having hero moments, it could be anyone in the team. A save from (goalkeeper Jordan) Pickford, a block from a defender, whoever it is, we have hero moments, and, for me, it was today," said a beaming Kane.

But the question for Tuchel is: who else can don a cape and come to England's rescue when they need it?

Kane and Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham are undoubtedly the team's "go-to" men for a crisis, scoring seven out of England's eight goals so far at the World Cup.

England is not the only team to rely on special players to provide moments of inspiration — Messi scored six of Argentina's eight goals in the group phase.

But Tuchel must have sleepless nights over the fitness of his 32-year-old captain, with no natural replacement at center-forward.

Despite Kane's goals, England has struggled to live up to its billing as one of the favorites to win its first World Cup since 1966 following an encouraging 4-2 win against Croatia in its opener.

The Three Lions looked shaky in defense against DR Congo — ranked dozens of places below them — and pedestrian in attack, with Marcus Rashford and Noni Madueke unable to make much impact on the wings.

Substitute Gordon set up both of Kane's goals, but England looks short of the "wow" factor off the bench.

Daunting clash

England will return to its base camp in Kansas City to prepare for a daunting clash with co-host Mexico on Sunday.

With Mexico enjoying the advantage of playing at high altitude in a stadium where it has only lost two of its last 89 competitive matches, as well as enjoying the backing of a passionate home crowd, Tuchel acknowledged that the clash would be a stern test for England.

"The altitude will, of course, be a big disadvantage because we cannot physically adapt to it in four days. It's simply impossible," Tuchel said.

"There may be more obstacles ahead, but we are ready for them."

Tuchel said he wanted to focus on the win against DR Congo first.

"I'm just coming from this match and trying to enjoy it, but it is maybe one of the most beautiful fixtures, the most exciting fixtures that you can have," he said.

And former England forward Chris Sutton warned against taking the DR Congo result for granted.

"For England to win was a big deal," he told the BBC. "It's knockout football. It's about getting over the line. The question you want to put out there tonight — where would England be without Harry Kane?"

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