SATV, Kathmandu, Jun. 19 - Harry Kane has already made the most of another opportunity in this World Cup. Given a second penalty kick, he didn't miss.
The hope now for England and its captain is this is just the start of a long run and another chance to seek a championship after bitter losses ended their last two appearances.
That successful retry on a penalty kick was the first of Kane's first two goals as England won its World Cup opener 4-2 over Croatia on Wednesday (Thursday morning in Nepal), the team that knocked the Three Lions out in the 2018 semifinals.
After scoring his goals in the first half, the second a powerful header, Kane was the first person to jump on the back of Jude Bellingham after his tiebreaking goal early in the second half put England ahead for good. Then in the 94th minute, there was Kane in front of his own net on a set play, blocking a close-range shot by Croatia.
"See the commitment of our captain, our No. 9," coach Thomas Tuchel said. "Complete performance, absolute leader and he's all in. He's all in physically, he's all in mentally. ... He's the full package. He wants it, and he leads by example."
Kane's goals pushed his World Cup total to 10 and matched the English record that Gary Lineker set playing in the 1986 and 1990 tournaments. Kane, who won the Golden Boot in 2018 in Russia by scoring six times, is the first player from England to score multiple goals in three Cup appearances. He has 81 international goals.
"Obviously it's a great milestone to reach, to get 10 goals in a World Cup. ... To reach double figures in this amazing tournament is very special," Kane said. "And it's the first game, I'm feeling good. I said before the game, physically, mentally, the goals I've scored this year (are) at the highest level I've ever had in my career. ... I enjoy being on the pitch when I'm feeling in this form."
Kane didn't score in England's 2-1 semifinal loss to Croatia eight years ago in the only previous World Cup meeting between the teams. When England lost 2-1 to France in the 2022 quarterfinals, Kane missed a penalty late, sending the ball over the crossbar.
This time, the 32-year-old Kane came close to another hat trick — he had one against Panama in 2018.
He had seven shots, three of them on goal. Those included a pair of rapid-fire tries in close shortly after England had retaken in the lead in the second half, and he almost immediately was trying to get to another ball when he collided with a defender and ended up on the ground in front of the net.
Kane's first goal in his 12th World Cup game came after Dominik Livakovic's save on his first penalty try was nullified by a video review. Both of the Croatian goalkeeper's feet were off the goal line as Kane struck the ball after an initial stutter-step.
"He's a keeper that likes to move early and jump kind of forward early. So I knew there was a high chance that if I did stutter that he might come off the line," Kane said. "I wasn't 100 percent sure that he was. I was maybe 80 percent sure he did. But obviously not ideal, I still want to score the penalty."
On the second attempts, Kane went the same way toward the right post while Livakovic lunged in the opposite direction.
Kane matched Lineker's mark when the Bayern Munich striker easily beat Livakovic with header off a corner kick from Declan Rice. Kane was basically alone before moving into position to make the play.
"It was a set piece that we used," he said. "Just kind of block the guys in front a little bit and just give me a bit of space."
Ghana join England at top
It was a play Ghana has been practicing throughout its World Cup preparation. And after a night of missed chances, it worked.
Caleb Yirenkyi tapped in a cross from Brandon Thomas-Asante in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, and Ghana beat Panama 1-0 on Wednesday night in the teams' World Cup opener.
Thomas-Asante got loose on the left side and fired the ball across the goal mouth. Yirenkyi knocked it in, sending his teammates streaming onto the field to embrace both players.
"Get the ball to the wings, and then put it in the box, and we get runs — people in the box to finish," said the 20-year-old Yirenkyi, who scored his first international goal earlier this month in a friendly against Wales. "I tried (to) just play forward and run forward, and then hope to see what comes in, and yeah, I got the ball in the box and finished."
The result puts Ghana at the top of Group L with England. (AP)
