Kane surpasses Pelé and Fontaine to etch his name in history

One night, one match, two goals — and football's record books were rewritten. England captain Harry Kane reached multiple milestones with his brace against DR Congo in the World Cup Round of 32, leading his side to a 2-1 victory at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Kane's 75th-minute equaliser took his World Cup tally to 12, equalling the record of Brazilian legend Pelé. Just 11 minutes later, in the 86th minute, his second goal — a brilliant strike — took him to 13, surpassing Pelé. The Brazilian great scored his 12 goals in just 16 World Cup matches and remains the only player to have won three World Cups (1958, 1962, 1970).

With 13 goals, Kane also equalled the record of French legend Just Fontaine. The two are now joint-sixth on the all-time World Cup goalscorers list. Lionel Messi leads with 19 goals, followed by Kylian Mbappe (18), Miroslav Klose (16), Ronaldo (15) and Gerd Muller (14).

This feat is not new for Kane. He had already broken Gary Lineker's record to become England's all-time leading World Cup goalscorer in the previous match against Panama.

Kane now has 20 goals in major international tournaments (World Cup and Euros combined) for England, the most for any English player. Overall, he has 84 goals in 117 appearances for the national team.

With five goals in this tournament, Kane is one behind Messi and Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot. He won the Golden Boot in 2018 with six goals.

England came from behind after Bryan Sipenga's seventh-minute goal. Despite Lionel Mpasi's heroics, Kane broke through to secure victory for his team.

England face Mexico on July 6, and Kane will be looking to add to his tally.