credentials

For Kane, it was another mesmerising performance that underlined his credentials as the frontrunner for the 2026 Ballon d’Or.

The former Tottenham Hotspur captain, 33, could become the first Englishman since Michael Owen in 2001 to win the prestigious individual award, with Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Paris St-Germain forward and current holder Ousmane Dembele among the favourites.

Kane was named on the 30-man shortlist in September, with the winner due to be announced on Monday following a vote by an international jury of 100 journalists.

“He is the clear winner. His numbers speak for themselves. The year he has had has been remarkable,” Arsenal and England midfielder Declan Rice told TNT Sports.

“When you play with him, you realise how good he is, and when you play against him, you see how much of a pain it is.

“He is ridiculous, such a good player, and I am lucky I can play with him, not so lucky I have to play against him.”

By scoring against Arsenal on Wednesday night, Kane became only the second player in Champions League history to find the net in 10 consecutive matches.

The only other player to achieve the feat was five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored in 11 successive matches for Real Madrid between June 2017 and April 2018.

“Kane certainly looks at home at Bayern. He understands the team and its system, and they all understand him. They know that when he gets the ball at his feet, wherever that may be, something good can happen,” Onuoha added.

“I think all the Bayern players are really playing into that, but then Harry steps up and scores a penalty as well.

“Having freedom is probably the best way to describe what he has got playing for Bayern, because he will work hard defensively, which allows him the freedom to be creative when he is in attack. For now, he certainly is thriving.”

Kane’s goal against Arsenal took his tally to 156 in 158 appearances since joining Bayern Munich from Tottenham in 2023.

It was another night to remember for the England captain, but the best could yet be to come, with the Ballon d’Or ceremony in London looming.

“It would be amazing to win,” said Kane afterwards. “The voting closed a long time ago so there’s nothing I can do, just wait and see what happens.”

The White House is defending its new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, as she faces scrutiny over her legal credentials.

President Donald Trump described Zacharia as an attorney when announcing her appointment last week and she has referred to herself as a lawyer.

But when she was asked on Tuesday by a reporter in which state she had passed the bar exam required to be an attorney in the US, she said standing alongside the president: “When I moved to China.”

She does not appear to be registered to the bar in any state where she has lived. White House communications director Steven Cheung said Zacharia is “uniquely qualified and whip smart to help inform the American people”.

Responding to questions about her credentials, Zacharia said in a statement this week: “I practised international transaction law, with all the appropriate credentials.”

On Wednesday, a watchdog group, Campaign for Accountability, filed a complaint with the California State Bar Association.

They are seeking an investigation into whether Zacharia “repeatedly held herself out to the public as entitled to practise law without a licence to do so, conduct California law treats as a crime”.

The 42-year-old political strategist graduated from law school at Pepperdine University in California in 2011, the university confirmed.

A law degree is not a licence to practise law in the US.

The new White House press secretary told the New York Times on Wednesday that when she first began appearing on cable news, she had asked Pepperdine how she should identify herself.

She said she was advised by the university president that she could call herself a lawyer, but not an attorney.

Zacharia took the bar exam in California after graduating from law school but did not pass, according to the Wall Street Journal. California’s bar exam is widely regarded as one of the hardest in the US to pass.

A person with direct knowledge of the matter told the outlet that Zacharia took the exam around the same time that she was planning a wedding and preparing to move to China with her husband-to-be.