Harry Kane became England’s most-capped men’s player on Thursday, 12 November, winning his 126th cap and scoring the winning goal as England beat Croatia 2-1 at Wembley to reach the Nations League quarter-finals.
The captain moved past former goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who won 125 caps, and was honoured before kick-off with a presentation involving Shilton and Prince William. A giant banner in the stands carried a picture of the 33-year-old alongside the words “England’s Finest”.
England made the brighter start and took the lead in the 24th minute through Morgan Rogers. Kane floated a ball towards Jude Bellingham on the right of the penalty area, and Bellingham cushioned it across goal for the Chelsea forward to poke home past goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
Croatia, beaten 7-0 by England in Rijeka last month, were far more organised this time and levelled just before the hour. A misdirected header from England defender Jarell Quansah fell to Petar Sucic, who finished from close range.
England were back in front minutes later. Quansah had his shirt tugged inside the penalty area, and after the referee was sent to the monitor by VAR, a penalty was awarded. Kane made no mistake from the spot, drilling home his 92nd England goal to settle the match on his record night.
Croatia still threatened late on, with Nikola Vlasic firing just wide, and James Garner thought he had added a third for England, only for the effort to be ruled out because Bellingham was offside in the build-up.
The result kept England second in Group A3 behind Spain and confirmed their place in the last eight in March. Thomas Tuchel’s side now travel to Madrid on Sunday for a meeting with Spain, the world champions, who beat Czechia 2-0 on Thursday. Kane, who won the Ballon d’Or this year, said after the match that the squad had set out to win every game after losing their opener to Spain, and the win keeps that run going.
Source: Al Jazeera | Bundesliga
