World Cup: Messi, Kane & Modric break records as group stage ends

Flashscore brings you all the best moments from the tournament in our daily World Cup highlights feature. Here's what happened on day 17!

Catch up on day 16 at the World Cup here.

Key moments

England captain Harry Kane scored against Panama in the Three Lions' 2-0 win, moving him ahead of Gary Lineker in the nation's all-time FIFA World Cup records.

Heading into the match, both Kane and Lineker were tied on 10 goals, but the Bayern Munich striker's finish against Los Canaleros edged him in front. Star player Jude Bellingham also found the net and praised his record-breaking teammate after the game.

In a packed night of football, Croatia also confirmed their spot in the last 32. Their opponents, Ghana, put up a fight, but Croatia overpowered their Group L opponents to win 2-1 and clinch a second-place finish, behind England.

It didn't matter all that much to the Black Stars, who progressed to the FIFA World Cup knockouts as one of the eight best third-placed teams.

The action continued into the night with Portugal and Colombia playing out a 0-0 draw at the top of Group K - a result that saw questions return over Cristiano Ronaldo's involvement after the forward managed just 35 touches.

D.R. Congo came from behind to beat Uzbekistan 3-1 and clinch third place in the group, as well as a spot in the last 32, where they will face England. Newcastle striker Yoane Wissa was the difference-maker for Congo, netting twice in the last 30 minutes of the match.

In the final matches of the evening, Austria and Algeria played out a thrilling 3-3 draw to ensure both sides booked their spots in the knockout rounds.

Argentina were also in action and comfortably defeated Jordan 3-1, and, of course, Lionel Messi was among the goals once again to take his tally to six for the tournament.

That goal meant Messi became the first player ever to score in seven straight World Cup matches, a run that stretches back to Argentina’s 2-1 victory over Australia at the ​2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Away from the actual fixtures on day 17, Scotland manager Steve Clarke immediately stepped down after the Tartan Army were eliminated from the 2026 World Cup.

Best goal

Croatia's Petar Sucic unleashed a venomous effort from range to give his side the lead against Ghana.

He picked up the ball at least 35 yards from goal, before taking a few steps goalward and beginning to set himself up.

The Ghanaian players didn't close down Sucic quickly enough, and the Inter Milan man took the invitation.

Sucic's shot left his right boot and looked destined for the bottom corner of Benjamin Asare's goal, where it nestled in a flash.

Best player

England's Jude Bellingham put in a truly Man of the Match performance against Panama, registering a goal and providing the assist for Kane's record-breaking header.

He secured a 9.5 Flashscore rating for his efforts.

Read all about how Flashscore's player ratings work here!

Social media highlights

Aged 40 years and 291 days old, Luka Modric became the oldest player to provide an assist at the World Cup on Opta record (since 1966).

In the same game, Sucic’s opener for Croatia was the 28th goal from outside the box at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the most at an edition of the tournament since 1994 (30).

The Ghanaian witch doctor who put a curse on England captain Kane confirmed it had been lifted... the Englishman then scored against Panama!

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