Why Peter Crouch Is Ready To Crown Harry Kane As England's GOAT After DR Congo Win

Harry Kane lifted England to victory once again on Wednesday, scoring a brace in its dramatic 2-1 win over DR Congo to advance to the round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And as Kane notched his 83rd and 84th career international goals to help the Three Lions get the comeback victory, former England men's national star Peter Crouch made a big proclamation about the star forward.

"It was genuinely unbelievable. When you've got world-class players like Harry Kane on your team, that's what can happen," Crouch said on FOX Sports' "World Cup Now." "It just felt like it wasn't going to come for England, but when you've got a player like that, a world-class player, a finisher, a talentsman, England's greatest player — I think you have to say [that] now. It was just such a magical finish — going away from goal, to get that type of power. Phenomenal."

Kane's first goal was a relatively simple header, leveling the match in the 75th minute off a cross from Anthony Gordon. But Kane's second goal was practically a one-man job. In the 86th minute, Kane dribbled through a few DR Congo defenders along the edge of the box before firing a shot that squeezed in right under the crossbar. 

"When I see him with his back to the goal there, I was really, really used to him and I should've known better," Crouch said. "I was telling him to go out wide and get into the box. There's not many players that can swivel, turn and strike with that venom and power with their back to the goal."

The second goal was Kane's fifth of the tournament, putting him squarely in the mix to win Golden Boot of the tournament. He's only one goal shy of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé for the most goals in this World Cup. 

But when it comes to England records, Kane has just about all of the major goalscoring ones. His 84 goals are 31 more than what Wayne Rooney scored, as the former Three Lions star has the second-most goals in the federation's history. Kane also set the England record for the most goals scored in World Cup history on Saturday as he now has 13 goals in the tournament. 

As Kane continues to break or add to his records, Crouch thinks he's undeniably becoming England's best player ever and that he's "got to be" a Ballon d'Or contender. 

"It's the type of player that we'll probably appreciate more when he's not battling," Crouch said. "We have this thing with players — who's better, this or that — his record stands up. Since he's been at Bayern Munich, he's gone to a new level. He's consistently scored goals. He's breaking records. Lewandowski played there before him, he's breaking his records. He's breaking every England record that we have."

Former Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, meanwhile, wasn't stunned by Kane's game-winning contributions in England's win. 

"I don't know why you're surprised. It's Harry Kane. He is the man," Schmeichel said. "I've been on the receiving end of a few of those. You can just never, ever write him off. The only time when I can probably remember is the game against Ghana when he missed. That's probably the only chance I ever remember him missing in that kind of situation. Then, he comes up again for England.

"For me, Harry Kane's the ultimate striker. There's nothing about him that he can't do. He's not just a goalscorer, he's a creator. Where would England be without Harry Kane?"

Former France star Thierry Henry was also in awe of Kane's heroics on Wednesday, so much so that he was willing to toss aside the Arsenal-Tottenham rivalry and knight the England great. 

"For now, I'm going to call him ‘Sir Harry Kane' because of what he's done today," Henry said on FOX Sports' "World Cup Live." "You guys were looking for answers. He was by himself the answer, and not only the goals."

Both Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović each pointed out a specific play that Kane made beyond his goals that also contributed to England's win in a major way, pointing to it as a reason why he's more than just a star goalscorer. 

"In the first half, he ran back to be the full back to stop a counter and go on the other side to stop the counter and he almost finished it," Henry said. "I don't even know what to say anymore about Harry Kane. And you know, I'm not too much — with the Tottenham thing and the stuff with Arsenal — but for now, I'm going to call him ‘Sir Harry Kane.’

"This England, I'll just say: Harry Kane," Ibrahimović added. "He had two goals and the one run that Thierry said, that says everything about how much he means to this team. We talk about Messi with Argentina, France with Mbappé, but they've got other superstars, and [Erling] Haaland with Norway. But when it comes to England, it's all about Harry Kane. 

"‘Sir Harry Kane’ is England, and the way he performed today, he needs to continue like that if England is going to have a chance."

And as Kane put England on his back on Wednesday, Crouch compared him to the NFL player who is also considered to be the greatest of all-time.

"[Kane] loves the NFL. … Tom Brady's his hero," Crouch said. "This is something special. This will travel back home. I know we're getting carried away — we're playing Congo and we're expected to win this — but it was the manner of the game. It was the way we lost control. It was the way we had to dig in. It was the way we had to play with a midfielder at right back. We had to make substitutions and still the same outcome with him scoring the goals."