England captain Harry Kane wins Golden Boot award with six goals
St. Petersburg: Harry Kane has become the first Englishman to win the World Cup Golden Boot since Gary Lineker in 1986 after he bagged six goals in Russia.
The 24-year-old proved to be influential as the Three Lions reached the semi-finals under the tutelage of popular boss Gareth Southgate.
Kane netted five goals in two matches in England's group stage victories against Tunisia and Panama, as well as the opener in their 1-1 draw against Colombia in the round of 16 to become only the second Englishman ever to claim the award, following in the footsteps of Gary Lineker in 1986.
Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku was Kane's closest rival for the award with four goals, but finished level with Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, France pair Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann and Denis Cheryshev of Russia after missing several good chances to add to his tally in his side's convincing 2-0 win over England in the World Cup third-place playoff in Saint Petersburg on Saturday.
Mbappe and Griezmann required at least three goals to deny Kane the award in the World Cup final on Sunday, but scored just once each as France beat Croatia 4-2 at the Luzhniki Stadium to lift the trophy for a second time.
Three of Kane's goals in the tournament came from the penalty spot and his spot kick against Colombia was the only shot on target he mustered in the knockout stage, though one missed chance when flagged offside against Croatia in the semi-final would likely have been overturned by VAR.
Earlier, asked about his Golden Boot chances after England's defeat to Belgium, Kane said: "It shows we had a very good group stage. We scored a lot of goals. Obviously, I'm disappointed I couldn't get a goal in the last few games but that's football. Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it doesn't. We'll see if I do get it but if I do, it'll be something I'm very proud of."
Kane's tally of six goals has only been surpassed in one of the last 10 World Cups – Ronaldo scored eight to help Brazil triumph in 2002 – but the all-time competition record still belongs to legendary France striker Just Fontaine, who netted 13 times in the 1958 tournament. England captain Harry Kane said his team could have done better, following their 0-2 loss to Belgium in the third-place playoff in 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Kane, who lead the scoring for England with six goals, also said he regretted not having scored since the round of 16 against Colombia, reports Efe.
"Today showed that there's still room for improvement and we've said that all along," Kane said on Saturday.
"We're not the finished article and we can get better," the Tottenham Hotspur forward said. "We don't want to wait another 28 years for another World Cup semifinal. This is the level that we want to stay at now."
Belgium controlled most of Saturday's game, starting with an early goal from Thomas Meunier just four minutes into the match, and despite England's attempt at a second-half comeback, Eden Hazard sealed the win with a goal in the 82nd minute. In the semifinal, England squandered a 1-0 lead against Croatia to lose 1-2, with the winner coming in extra time.
