England are through to the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 — and they have Harry Kane to thank for it. The England captain scored twice in the second half to overturn a deficit against DR Congo, striking in the 75th and 86th minutes to seal a comeback victory for the Three Lions.

It was another example of Kane dragging his country through when they needed him most. This was the sixth consecutive knockout match at a major tournament in which England had conceded the opening goal — yet, as has become the pattern, their captain found a way.

A master class in clinical finishing

Kane was barely involved for large stretches of the game. In the opening 35 minutes, he touched the ball just five times, and his first shot arrived only after 34 minutes. Yet he still produced two decisive moments that altered the course of the match.

It is a trait he shares with Erling Haaland — the ability to remain peripheral and then arrive with the goal that matters. Haaland demonstrated the same quality just days earlier, for Norway against Ivory Coast. The difference, as Kane approaches his 33rd birthday, is that he is proving he still belongs among that elite company.