England reach Nations League quarters as Italy beat Zidane’s France

Detailed summary

PARIS: England secured their place in the Nations League quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over Croatia on Thursday, while Zinedine Zidane suffered his first defeat ...

PARIS: England secured their place in the Nations League quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over Croatia on Thursday, while Zinedine Zidane suffered his first defeat as France coach in a 3-1 loss away to Italy.

Harry Kane marked his record-breaking 126th England appearance by scoring the winner from the penalty spot at Wembley, taking his international tally to 92 goals.

Morgan Rogers put England ahead in the first half before a mistake by Jarell Quansah allowed Petar Sucic to equalize for Croatia on the hour mark.

England regained the lead when Ivan Smolcic wrestled Quansah to the ground at a corner, and Kane converted the resulting penalty after a VAR review.

Thomas Tuchel’s side moved to 12 points from five matches in Group A3, ensuring they go through to the quarterfinals next March.

“Good win. We wanted this win desperately and I think we deserved it,” Tuchel told ITV. “We got the job done and it was important because it was a special occasion for Harry and he scored the winner, so perfect evening.”

Spain top the group on 15 points after a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic in Prague, their fifth straight victory in the competition. Alex Baena’s penalty and a late goal from Marc Pubill extended Spain’s unbeaten run in competitive matches to 44 and set up a showdown with England in Madrid on Sunday that will decide the group winners.

The Czechs remain without a point and finished with 10 men after captain Ladislav Krejci was sent off.

In Milan, Italy came from behind to hand Zidane his first defeat since taking charge of Les Bleus.

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