Harry Kane scored the winning penalty on his record 126th England cap as England beat Croatia 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League at Wembley on Thursday night, a result that secures a top-two finish in Group A3 with a game to spare. Kick-off was 3.45am on Friday 13 November in Singapore.
The captain’s 64th-minute spot kick was his 92nd goal for England, and it came five minutes after Petar Sucic had pulled Croatia level. Chelsea’s Morgan Rogers scored England’s first.
A record night that needed Kane again
Kane went past Peter Shilton’s men’s record of 125 caps the moment he walked out in front of a Wembley crowd of 80,484. Before kick-off he showed his Ballon d’Or trophy to the fans and was handed a commemorative shirt by Shilton and the Prince of Wales, while Luka Modric presented a gift from the Croatian Football Federation. Modric started on the bench.
Croatia had lost 7-0 to England in Rijeka on 3 October and started like a side with something to put right. England’s first attempt came after 16 minutes, when Elliot Anderson fired over from the edge of the box.
The opener arrived eight minutes later. Kane’s diagonal cross from the left found Jude Bellingham, whose first-time ball back across goal was scrambled in by Rogers from close range.
Anthony Gordon curled wide early in the second half, and Kane was denied a second England goal when his Bayern Munich team-mate Josip Stanisic blocked the shot after Declan Rice’s cutback. Croatia punished England on 59 minutes. England failed to deal with a corner and Sucic, quickest to react, poked the loose ball past Jordan Pickford and into the roof of the net.
England needed five minutes to go back in front. Ivan Smolcic hauled down Jarell Quansah, a VAR review led Danish referee Morten Krogh to point to the spot, and Kane sent his penalty straight down the middle.
A nervy finish at Wembley
The tempo dropped as both benches made changes, and Croatia sent on Modric. Nikola Vlasic wriggled free and shot inches wide with nine minutes to play. Substitute James Garner had what would have been his first England goal ruled out for offside, and Ante Budimir headed over in stoppage time before England saw it out.
Spain in Madrid for top spot
Kane has now scored in all five of England’s Nations League games this campaign, seven goals in total. England have won four of the five, scoring 16 and conceding four.
The only defeat was the 3-2 loss to Spain at Wembley on 26 September, and Spain kept their perfect record on Thursday with a 2-0 win in Czechia. Spain lead Group A3 on 15 points, England have 12, Croatia three and Czechia none. With Croatia unable to reach 12, England are guaranteed a quarter-final place.
Top spot in Group A3 is decided in Madrid on Sunday, when Spain host England at the Estadio Metropolitano. In Singapore that kick-off is 3.45am on Monday 16 November.
