England captain Kane hails ‘magic’ World Cup winner

Harry Kane said it was “magic” to score two goals – including a stoppage-time winner – on his World Cup debut to help England to a Group G opening win against Tunisia.

Kane gave England an early lead but after Kyle Walker gave away a penalty, Ferjani Sassi replied from the spot for the African side in Volgograd.

Although Gareth Southgate’s men toiled during the second half, captain Kane came up with a headed winner in the 91st minute to get the Three Lions out of jail.

And Tottenham striker Kane suggested England – who scored a stoppage-time winner for the first time in a World Cup match – could have won by a more comfortable margin.

“It’s magic. So proud of the lads, it’s tough,” Kane told BBC Sport. “We played really well in the first half and could have got more, we deserved to be ahead.

“I’ve not seen the penalty back but it didn’t look like one. Credit to the lads, we kept going. Absolutely buzzing.”

Kane appeared to be held by Tunisia defenders from numerous England set-pieces, with referee Wilmar Roldan refusing to point to the spot.

“There could have been a couple of penalties, especially when you look at their one,” Kane said.

“I think a few corners, we had so much joy from them they were trying to grab hold and stop us running, so maybe a bit of justice in the end. But that’s football, that’s the ref, we kept going.

“We’ve done a lot of work. The World Cup is tough, especially the first game, get the nerves out of the way. So proud of them.”

England head into their next fixture against Panama on Sunday on a high following their last-gasp win, with Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson thrilled to secure three points.

“It’s a massive boost, a massive bonus,” Henderson said to BBC Sport. “We kept going, no matter what happens we’ll keep fighting, and it paid off for us tonight with a late goal and a big win.

“It’s a big win, so important. The first game. We can’t get carried away. Now we’ve got to recover well, prepare well, win the second game and build momentum.”