Donald Trump has once again heaped praise on to Harry Kane, calling England’s captain a ‘great player’ and even claiming to have played golf with him.
Just hours after the Three Lions’ triumphant 3-2 victory at the Estadio Azteca, the US President gave his reaction while speaking to reporters at the Oval Office.
He said: ‘What a game that was, England and Mexico. In the two countries I don’t know the players, although I think Kane is a great player.
‘See, I played golf with him and I like him a lot. He’s a good golfer, but he’s really great. There was no reason for me to watch (England against Mexico) but you couldn’t take your eyes off the game.’
Both Trump – who owns more than a dozen courses – and Kane are avid golfers, though it is not yet clear exactly where, or when, they played together.
It comes after the political figure took to his TruthSocial page to hail the Bayern Munich forward after he fired a penalty into the bottom corner against the Mexicans.
Donald Trump was once again full of praise for Harry Kane while speaking to reporters at the Oval Office
The England captain scored his sixth goal of this summer’s World Cup with a penalty against Mexico
It comes after Trump took to his TruthSocial page to hail Kane earlier this morning
Trump wrote: ‘Harry Kane of England is a GREAT player!!!’
England booked their place in the World Cup quarter-finals in the early hours of this morning on an unforgettable and raucous evening in New Mexico.
Real Madrid attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham scored twice within two first half minutes before skipper Kane netted the third.
England manager Thomas Tuchel’s men held on for a 3-2 victory despite a late penalty response by Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Raul Jimenez.
Kane and his team-mates are now preparing for a quarter-final in Miami next Saturday, at 10pm UK time, against Norway.
Manchester City centre-forward Erling Haaland scored twice as his side defeated five-time World Cup winners Brazil 2-1 earlier on Sunday.
England’s hopes of progressing to the next round came with concerns about the heat and the altitude in Mexico City – while local fans also bombarded the stars’ hotel with all-night fanfares.
Yet England surged suddenly into a 2-0 lead in the first half of a game whose kick-off had been delayed for an hour due to thunderstorms.
Bellingham took his tally for this tournament to four, set up for his first by Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and then his almost-instant second by Kane.
England fans had been thronging Mexico City ahead of the game and also congregating in the iconic Azteca Stadium.
Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham were on the scoresheet again as England beat Mexico 3-2
The last time England played in the ground was at the Mexico-staged World Cup 40 years ago, losing 2-1 to that tournament’s eventual champions Argentina.
That match is among the World Cup’s most memorable, Diego Maradona scoring with what he called his ‘Hand of God’ before a scintillating solo run.
Last night’s clash between England and Mexico in the same arena is already being acclaimed as another all-time World Cup classic.
It has also been hailed as the Three Lions’ greatest World Cup victory since beating West Germany to lift the Jules Rimet trophy after the Wembley final in 1966.
President Trump has taken a keen interest in the 2026 World Cup which is being co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada – with the majority of matches in his country.
The final is scheduled to take place in New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on July 19.
The US president and his FIFA counterpart Gianni Infantino have forged a keen friendship – with the latter recently granting Mr Trump an inaugural Fifa Peace Prize.
President Trump also today welcomed the fact that US forward Balogun – a Brooklyn-born star who grew up in London – would be permitted to play in the quarter-finals despite his red card.
The one-match suspension that would usually come into play has been suspended for a year – amid suggestions the White House put in calls to FIFA and prompting complaints from the USA’s next opponents Belgium.
And speaking at the Oval Office, Trump said: ‘The people in Belgium, if they win the game, they can be very proud. If they would win the game with a player missing, it would have been a different feeling.
‘All I did was ask for a review, I didn’t say: “You have to do this”. Gianni Infantino is a smart, tough man and his stock has gone through the roof because the job he’s done has been great. I think we need all the best players on the field.’
A FIFA statement read: ‘In line with article 27 of the Fifa disciplinary code, the implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year.
‘If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.’
Under Article 10.5 of FIFA’s tournament regulations, the dismissal automatically carries a mandatory one-game suspension.
Multiple FIFA officials had previously confirmed that national teams are prohibited from formally appealing red cards or the subsequent disciplinary sanctions.
However, the governing body’s judicial committee utilized a rare stipulation within Article 27 of the disciplinary code to circumvent the immediate ban.
The specific regulation allows the committee to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure.
The disciplinary body recently applied the exact same probationary regulation to Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the tournament.
Ronaldo initially faced a ban following a violent conduct dismissal during a World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland in November 2025.
Folarin Balogun, right, fouls Tarik Muharemovic, resulting in a red card to the US striker during the World Cup Round of 32 match between the US and Bosnia and Herzegovina
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, right, told Mr Trump the matter was already being considered by FIFA’s independent disciplinary committee before Balogun’s suspension was lifted (file pic)
He was sent off after catching defender Dara O’Shea with a trailing elbow during a 2-0 defeat in Dublin.
However, after the Portugal captain served a one-game suspension during the team’s subsequent 9-1 victory over Armenia, Fifa intervened.
The governing body suspended the final two matches of the ban under a one-year probation period.
That cleared the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to lead his country from the start of the current tournament – with Portugal also now in the quarter-finals, facing Spain.
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