Harry Kane became England's all-time leading scorer at the World Cup as he helped them to a 2-0 victory over Panama to secure top spot in Group L.

2026 World Cup

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Match Report 

Kane's header was his 11th at the tournament for England, who had already qualified for the last 32 without kicking a ball, with Jude Bellingham also getting a goal and an assist to ensure they meet one of the best third-placed teams in their next match.

Tomas Rodriguez sent a long-range shot straight at Jordan Pickford with just 10 seconds on the clock before Marcus Rashford's low curler was pushed away by Orlando Mosquera shortly after at the other end.

Bukayo Saka and Bellingham then both saw half-chances go begging as England were once again frustrated as they failed to break down Panama's defence.

Jose Luis Rodriguez almost stunned Thomas Tuchel's side 26 minutes in as he drove down the left – getting past makeshift right-back Jarell Quansah – but his low drive was pushed away from the bottom-left corner by Pickford.

Rashford then nodded a great chance over the crossbar and whipped a pacy free-kick narrowly wide of the right post on the stroke of half-time.

Rodriguez curled another effort narrowly over the bar in the second half, with Kane getting his first sight of goal just before the hour when his drive was parried by Mosquera.

But Bellingham found the breakthrough in the 62nd minute; Saka's left-sided corner reached him on the edge of the six-yard box, and he stuck out a leg in front of his marker to turn it into the near-bottom corner.

Kane got his record-breaking goal just five minutes later, rising highest to meet Bellingham's dinked cross and thump his header into the back of the net.

Noni Madueke saw a shot blocked by Mosquera before Panama thought they had scored their first goal of the 2026 World Cup in the 91st minute, but Jose Fajardo set off too early to latch onto Eric Davies' stunning cross, and the flag went up as soon as he curled past Pickford into the top-right corner.

11 - Harry Kane has become England's all-time leading goalscorer at the FIFA World Cup with 11 goals, overtaking Gary Lineker (10).

Crisp. pic.twitter.com/AB2hNBoTcv

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 27, 2026

Kane stands tall on his own

The England captain came into this game level on goals with Gary Lineker, knowing that he only needed to get on the scoresheet to add another record to his name.

Kane struggled in the first half, though, failing to have a single shot before the break for the first time in seven World Cup games, since doing so against Iran in England's opener of the 2022 edition.

And he is now the Three Lions' all-time leading scorer at the World Cup with 11 goals. He has also scored four goals against Panama at the finals, which are the most by any England player against a single opponent in the competition's history.

While he steals the headlines, Bellingham played a key role, having scored in two of his last three appearances for his country, as many goals as in his previous 18 caps.

The Real Madrid midfielder (22 years 363 days) is the youngest England player on record (since 1966) to both score and assist in a World Cup match.

England were much-improved in the second half, eventually finishing with 1.49 expected goals (xG) from 17 shots, while Panama racked up 13 attempts worth 0.58 xG.

They showed no fear against Tuchel's side, though they could not break their duck as they bow out of the tournament without a goal to their name.

Line-ups

Panama XI: E. Bárcenas, Orlando Mosquera, F. Escobar, Cristian Martínez, M. Murillo, Jorge Gutiérrez, José Rodriguez, Andrés Andrade, Tomás Rodríguez, Carlos Harvey, José Córdoba

Subs: E. Davis, Luis Mejía, A. Quintero, A. Godoy, Roderick Miller, Cecilio Waterman, I. Díaz, César Yanis, Adalberto Carrasquilla, Jiovany Ramos, César Blackman, José Fajardo, César Samudio, Edgardo Fariña, Azarías Londoño

England XI: Kane, Pickford, Elliot Anderson, Rashford, Ngoyo, Guehi, Morgan Rogers, Saka, Bellingham, Quansah, Nico O'Reilly

Subs: Henderson, Burn, Stones, Ivan Toney, Dean Henderson, Ollie Watkins, Trevoh Chalobah, Rice, Eberechi Eze, Spence, Gordon, Madueke, James Trafford, Mainoo