England captain Harry Kane continued his remarkable scoring season by reaching 70 goals across all competitions in 2025-26, moving into second place among the highest single-season scorers of the 21st century.

The milestone came during England’s 2-0 victory over Panama in their final Group L match at the FIFA World Cup 2026. Kane’s latest goal saw him move ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s best single-season total, leaving only Lionel Messi’s 82-goal campaign in 2011-12 above him on the century’s scoring charts. Messi also recorded 69 goals in 2012-13, while Ronaldo reached 69 goals in 2011-12 and 66 in 2014-15.

Kane found the net in the 68th minute after meeting a precise cross from Jude Bellingham with a powerful header. The England striker doubled his team’s lead after Bellingham had opened the scoring six minutes earlier with a composed finish following a corner.

The goal also marked another significant achievement for Kane on the international stage. It was his 11th FIFA World Cup goal, making him England’s outright leading scorer in tournament history and taking him past Gary Lineker’s previous record of 10 goals.

Earlier in the competition, Kane had drawn level with Lineker by scoring twice in England’s opening 4-2 victory over Croatia. His latest strike increased his total to 18 goals in major international tournaments for England.

Panama thought they had reduced the deficit in stoppage time, but the effort was ruled out for offside. The result left Panama without a point or a goal from their three group-stage matches.

England completed the group stage unbeaten with seven points, finishing top of Group L for the second successive World Cup. Thomas Tuchel’s side began the tournament with a 4-2 win over Croatia, followed by a goalless draw against Ghana before securing victory against Panama.

The seven-point total matched England’s best-ever group-stage return at a FIFA World Cup, equalling the mark achieved in both the 2006 and 2022 tournaments.

Croatia advanced to the knockout stage as runners-up in the group, while Ghana also progressed. Panama finished at the bottom of the standings after losing all three matches.