« He is the best England player of all time »

Jude Bellingham named Harry Kane England’s greatest-ever footballer and said no one had « shown more » for his country after the pair scored in a 2-0 win over Panama to win Group L at the 2026 World Cup.

Real Madrid’s Bellingham broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute before crossing for Kane to equal Gary Lineker’s record of 10 England goals in the finals, scoring 82nd internationally to move 29 clear of any other Three Lions player in history.

« I’ve built up a good relationship with Harry over the last four or five years, » said Bellingham. « It’s an honor to play with him.

“He’s the best England player of all time. He is the one who has appeared more than anyone else – more than any English player.

« He’s very easy to play with. He’s at a level that’s unbelievable right now. You don’t doubt him at all … in terms of whether he’s going to make the difference in the game and he did that again today. »

Most World Cup goals: Where is Harry Kane?

Only seven players now have more world championship goals from Kane, including 2026 top scorer Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, who made a prolific start to the finals for France.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the all-time top scorer in international football, has two in the current finals and 10 in total at the tournament.

Player	A team	aims	Coincidences
Lionel Messi	Argentina	18	28
Kylian Mbappe	France	16	17
Miroslav Klose	Germany	16	24
Ronaldo	Brazil	15	19
Gerd Muller	West Germany	14	13
Just Fontaine	France	13	6
First	Brazil	12	14
Jurgen Klinsmann	West Germany/Germany	11	17
Sandor Kochish	Hungary	11	5
Harry Kane	England	11	14

World Cup 2026: Harry Kane on England goals

Kane described his latest landmark as « another pride to reach » and credited Bellingham with « another top performance ».

« Jude looks fit, he looks sharp and he looks like he has the bite between his teeth to go out there and prove to the world what type of player he is, » the Bayern Munich forward told ITV.

« His effort – constantly running, tackling, tracking back – is the type of player we want in our team. Jude is a fantastic runner with and without the ball.

« He makes runs in behind from deep and is so hard to track, he’s strong, he’s physical. He’s a fantastic player all around.

« Jude had a great game and a great cross, he just hooked it in. I was kind of waiting for him the whole game just to deal with my man.

« It was good to see him go in and hopefully it’s not the last of this tournament. »

World Cup 2026: What’s next for England and Harry Kane?

England are next in action in the Round of 16 against DR Congo. Here are their results, schedule and potential schedule.

Date	Coincidence	Result	Stage	Time (BST)	ET	PT	Channel
June 17	Croatia	4-2	Group	21:00 hours	4:00 p.m	1:00 p.m	ITV
June 23	Ghana	0-0	Group	21:00 hours	4:00 p.m	1:00 p.m	The BBC
June 27	Panama	2-0	Group	22:00 hours	17:00 hours	14:00 hours	ITV
July 1	DR Congo		32 circle	17:00 hours	12:00 p.m	09:00 hours	The BBC
July 6	TB		Round of 16	01:00 hours	20:00*	15:00*	The BBC
July 11	TB		Quarter-finals	22:00 hours	17:00 hours	14:00 hours	ITV
July 15	TB		Semifinals	20:00 hours	15:00 hours	12:00 p.m	The BBC
July 18	TB		Match for third place	22:00 hours	17:00 hours	12:00 p.m	TB
July 19	TB		Final	20:00 hours	15:00 hours	10:00 a.m	BBC, ITV

FIFA World Cup 2026: Team England vs Panama

Kane was rumored to be rested but the 32-year-old was not among England’s five changes following the 0-0 draw with Ghana the previous Tuesday.

Reece James is expected to miss two games with a hamstring injury, while Jed Spence, Noni Madueke, Declan Rice and Anthony Gordon move to the bench.

In came Nico O’Reilly, Jarrell Quanza, Morgan Rodgers, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford.

England starting XI: Jordan Pickford, Ezri Konza, Nico O’Reilly, Mark Gwehi, Jarel Kwanza, Elliott Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rodgers, Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford

Replacements in England: Dean Henderson, James Trafford, John Stones, Trevo Chalobah, Dan Byrne, Jed Spence, Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson, Kobi Mainoo, Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Ollie Watkins, Noni Madueke, Ivan Toni