Harry Kane converted a penalty against Croatia to open England’s 2026 World Cup scoring account at Dallas Stadium. By scoring from the spot, the England captain surpassed Lionel Messi to claim the record for the most penalties scored in tournament history.
The opportunity arose in the 10th minute when Luka Modric fouled Noni Madueke inside the area, prompting the referee to immediately point to the spot. Dominik Livakovic saved Kane’s initial attempt, but the striker converted on the retake after VAR ruled that Josko Gvardiol encroached into the box early.
The goal marked Kane’s fifth penalty conversion in World Cup history, excluding penalty shootouts. Messi previously shared the tournament record with Kane at four spot-kicks each, but the English forward now holds the top spot alone.
Prior to the match, five players shared the penalty record, including Portugal’s Eusebio, Netherlands’ Rob Rensenbrink, Argentina’s Gabriel Batistuta and Messi, and England’s Kane. Kane has now broken away from that group, though Messi remains the only other active player with a chance to catch him.
Harry Kane #9 of England scores a penalty against Croatia.
Kane’s penalty breakdown
During his tournament debut in 2018, Kane scored a hat trick against Panama in a 6-1 group stage win, with two of those goals coming from the penalty spot. He added another spot-kick in the round of 16 against Colombia, helping England eventually advance via a penalty shootout.
see also
England vs Croatia LIVE Updates: Luka Modric taken off amid Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane goals in the 2026 World Cup (3-2)
At the 2022 tournament in Qatar, Kane netted his fourth World Cup penalty during a quarterfinal match against France; the same game where he missed the chance to level the score 2-2, again from the penalty spot. With his conversion today against Croatia, his total now sits at five.
Harry Kane equals Gary Lineker and David Beckham
Kane established himself as one of the most prolific forwards in English history after breaking through at Tottenham under Mauricio Pochettino. He remains the all-time top scorer for the Three Lions, pushing his record to 81 goals and leaving Wayne Rooney’s previous mark of 53 far behind.
With his goals today, Kane became the second English player to score in three different World Cup tournaments after David Beckham accomplished the feat in 1998, 2002, and 2006. His performance also moved him into a tie with Gary Lineker for the most World Cup goals by an England player with 10.
