Harry Kane marked the night he became England's most-capped men's player by scoring the winner. His 64th-minute penalty gave Thomas Tuchel's side a 2-1 victory over Croatia at Wembley on Thursday and put them into the quarter-finals of the Uefa Nations League, on an evening when the result came second to the occasion.
A tifo, a Ballon d'Or and Shilton's record
This was Kane's 126th appearance, one more than Peter Shilton managed. The Bayern Munich striker led the team out in front of a huge tifo display and then lifted the Ballon d'Or he won recently. Prince William was among those who made presentations to him. So was Shilton.
Kane, 33, had his children with him on the pitch. He said afterwards that it was beyond dreams and that he had made a point of taking it in, before adding that once the whistle goes the match is what matters.
Rogers opens, Quansah errs and then atones
England started slowly. It took until the 24th minute for the breakthrough, and Kane was involved in it, dropping deep and chipping a pass to Jude Bellingham. Bellingham cut the ball back and Morgan Rogers bundled it in from close range.
Croatia's equaliser in the 59th minute was a gift. Jarell Quansah tried to head a corner back to Jordan Pickford, left it short, and Petar Sucic nipped in to poke the ball home.
Quansah put it right five minutes later. At an England corner he was held and pulled by Ivan Smolcic, the referee gave a penalty, and it stood after a VAR check. Kane went down the middle. That was his 92nd goal for England and the 27th from the spot.
There could have been a third. Substitute James Garner drove a low shot past Dominik Livakovic late on, but Bellingham was ruled offside in the build-up before he set up the Everton midfielder.
Eight short of a hundred
Tuchel had warned beforehand that nobody should expect a repeat of the last international break, when England put seven past the same opponents. He was right. BBC Sport's Alex Howell, reporting from Wembley, described the performance as underwhelming.
Kane was still the best thing about it. He kept dropping into midfield and spraying passes around, which has become as much a part of his game as the finishing. He said earlier in the week that he wants to reach 100 England goals as quickly as he can. He is now eight away, and 39 clear of anybody else who has played for the country.
He will be 35 by the time Euro 2028 comes round. On this evidence that is not much of a concern.
Spain next
England finish the group against Spain on Sunday. The world champions lead Group 3 after beating the Czech Republic 2-0, and a win for England would take them above Spain into first place. The quarter-finals are played next year.
Match facts: England 2-1 Croatia, Uefa Nations League, Wembley Stadium, Thursday 12 November 2026. Scorers: Rogers 24, Kane 64 pen (England); Sucic 59 (Croatia). Kane won his 126th cap, a record for the England men's team, and scored his 92nd international goal. England qualify for the quarter-finals. Source: BBC Sport.
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