Harry Kane breaks caps record as England reach Nations League knockouts

Detailed summary

England moved to second spot in Group A3 behind Spain, confirming their place in the Nations League last eight in March.

Harry Kane celebrated his record-breaking 126th England cap with a goal from the penalty spot as England beat Croatia 2-1 on Thursday to book a place in the Nations League quarterfinals.

Slaven Bilic’s team were determined to avoid another embarrassment after their 7-0 mauling by England in Rijeka last month and looked much more solid from the kickoff at Wembley.

But goals from Morgan Rogers and captain Kane kept England second in Group A3 behind Spain, confirming their place in the Nations League last eight in March.

Thomas Tuchel’s men have a chance to avenge their 3-2 defeat against the world champions in their Nations League opener when they travel to Madrid for Sunday’s clash.

“After the first game when we lost here against them [Spain], we knew we left a bit out there,” Kane told ITV.

“We knew we could’ve done a bit better. We said to ourselves, ‘Let’s win every game until the next one and see what happens’. It’s the perfect opportunity now on Sunday to try and prove ourselves.”

England and Croatia struggled to get out of second gear in the opening stages of their match in London.

Elliot Anderson fired over in the 16th minute, and Croatia’s Josip Misic flashed a shot wide midway through the first half.

Chelsea forward Rogers broke the deadlock in the 24th minute in slightly fortuitous fashion, following a neat move by the home side.

Opening of the article, excerpted from Al Jazeera. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.