England vs Croatia: Kane wins it on record 126th cap, England through
Harry Kane's penalty beat Croatia 2-1 at Wembley on the night he passed Peter Shilton's caps record. Italy also stunned Zidane's France 3-1.
England vs Croatia ended 2-1 at Wembley on Thursday night, and Harry Kane scored the winner on the night he became England’s most capped player. The result sends England into the Nations League quarter-finals with a game to spare.
Kane’s 126th appearance took him past goalkeeper Peter Shilton’s record, and he marked it from the penalty spot in the 64th minute.
How the match went
Morgan Rogers opened the scoring in the 24th minute. Croatia drew level through Petar Sučić.
The deciding moment came after a VAR check. Danish referee Morten Krogh awarded England a penalty after Jarell Quansah was pulled down by Croatia’s Smolčić, the match reports said. Kane scored, and England held on.
The win puts England on 12 points from five Group A3 games, Tempo reported, enough to book a quarter-final place before the last round.
Kane’s record
Shilton’s 125 caps had been England’s record since he retired from international football in 1990. Kane, already England’s record goalscorer, now holds both of the big national-team records.
Italy stun Zidane’s France
The other big result of the night: Italy came from behind to beat France 3-1, with Esposito and Davide Frattesi among the scorers, according to headlines from France 24 and Dawn. It was Zinedine Zidane’s first defeat as France coach. Yahoo Sports described France as “in disarray”, and France 24 said their qualification is now in danger.
What happens next
England’s next game is against Spain, Football360 noted, and with a quarter-final place already secured, it now matters for top spot rather than survival.
Pakistani viewers searched the match mostly for the standings: England are through, and the places below them go down to the last round.
