Harry Kane scored his 92nd goal for England on the night he became the country’s most capped men’s player, firing a 64th minute penalty that beat Croatia 2-1 at Wembley on Thursday, November 12 and sent England into the Nations League quarter-finals. Kane won his 126th cap, moving one clear of Peter Shilton, and marked the record the way he has marked so much of his England career, by deciding the match himself.
England led through Morgan Rogers in the 24th minute, Petar Sucic levelled for Croatia in the 59th, and Kane settled it five minutes later after Jarell Quansah drew a penalty. The win keeps England second in Group A3 on 12 points, behind Spain on 15, and sets up a first place shootout in Madrid on Sunday, as the Associated Press report carried by TSN sets out.
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A Record That Stood Since 1990
Shilton’s mark of 125 caps had stood since 1990, and the former goalkeeper was at Wembley to present Kane with his landmark alongside the Prince of Wales before kickoff. Kane had equalled the record last month in a 3-0 win over Czechia, a match in which he scored twice, and he arrived at this one having also just been crowned the Ballon d’Or winner, a triumph celebrated on the pitch before the game began. The appearance record now sits alongside the scoring record Kane already owns, plus his England marks for goals at major tournaments, goals in a calendar year, appearances as captain and games won.
At 33, and still scoring in a fifth successive international, the Bayern Munich striker keeps extending a body of work that has no real parallel in England history. Every cap from here only moves the record further out of reach for the generation behind him, and the manner of this one mattered to him as much as the number itself.
“In the last game against them we knew we left a bit out there. We knew we could have done a little bit better and we said to ourselves, OK, let’s win every game from now til the next one and then see what happens. It’s a perfect opportunity now Sunday to try to prove ourselves.”
Kane gave that answer to broadcaster ITV Sport, quoted in the TSN match report, and he added a simpler line about the night itself: once the game starts, it is just about getting the win and getting the three points.
How The Night Turned In Five Minutes
England were the better side without ever looking comfortable. Rogers opened the scoring midway through the first half, converting after Jude Bellingham’s delivery into the area, and the home side carried that lead toward the hour with Croatia growing into the game. The equaliser came from an England mistake. Sucic pounced on a poor headed clearance from Quansah inside his own area and beat Jordan Pickford to level at 1-1 in the 59th minute.
Quansah made amends almost immediately. The defender got forward, had his shirt pulled by Ivan Smolcic inside the box, and after referee Morten Krogh was sent to the monitor, the penalty was given. Kane drilled it home in the 64th minute, his 27th penalty for England, and Wembley had the script it came for. This was a far tighter affair than England’s 7-0 win in Croatia 40 days earlier, and Croatia finished with more shots on target, but the record man delivered the one moment that counted.
Spain Set Up A Sunday Shootout
The quarter-final place was effectively secured before this match, but first place in Group A3 is still live, and it carries a seeding for the March quarter-finals. Spain stayed perfect in the competition with a 2-0 win away to Czechia, Alex Baena scoring a penalty late in the first half and Marc Pubill sealing it in the sixth minute of added time after Ladislav Krejci was sent off. That result stretched Spain’s unbeaten run to 43 matches, as the Sportsnet Nations League roundup notes.
England travel to Madrid on Sunday knowing the maths. A win by two goals or more tops the group, after Spain won the September meeting 3-2. Anything less and the world champions stay first. It is, as Kane put it, a perfect opportunity, and a far sterner test than Croatia provided.
Italy And Belgium Win On A Big Night
The night delivered storylines across League A. Italy beat France 3-1 at San Siro, their first home win over France since 1962, rallying after Michael Olise gave the visitors an early lead from a Gianluigi Donnarumma error. Pio Esposito levelled in the 26th minute, his eighth goal in just 14 caps, Davide Frattesi put Italy ahead after his brother Sebastiano had missed a penalty, and Pio Esposito converted a late penalty of his own to finish it. Italy moved top of Group A1 above France on head to head record, and the defeat was the first of Zinedine Zidane’s time in charge of France.
Belgium also came from behind, beating Turkey 2-1 after Arda Guler opened the scoring, with Kevin De Bruyne and Charles De Ketelaere turning the match around. Between Kane’s record at Wembley, Spain’s perfect run rolling on, and Italy ending a 64 year wait at San Siro, Thursday was the kind of Nations League night the competition was built to produce, and Sunday in Madrid now decides who owns Group A3.
