Harry Kane scored the winning penalty kick on Thursday night to secure a 2-1 victory for England against Croatia in London, as Thomas Tuchel’s side maintained their unbeaten run in the UEFA Nations League.
The result at Wembley Stadium followed a 7-0 rout in the reverse fixture in Rijeka earlier in the campaign, LAOLA1 reported.
England sits second in Group 3 of League A with 12 points from five matches, trailing group leader Spain, while Croatia holds three points in third place.
Captain Harry Kane received a pre-match presentation after winning the Ballon d’Or and surpassing Peter Shilton to become England’s all-time record appearance maker with 126 caps. Prince William and Luka Modrić joined the ceremony on the pitch, where the Croatian federation presented Kane with a replica of the first football brought to Croatia by English industrialists in 1880, according to SPOX.
The Croatian federation stated they were “stolz, mit dieser Geste eine Replik des historischen Balles zurückzugeben” as a sign of the enduring connection between the two nations’ football history.
“Ich versuche, alles aufzusaugen,” Kane told the BBC. “Den Rekord zu brechen, ist ein Riesenerfolg in der Geschichte unseres Sports. Die Choreografie zu sehen, meine Kinder dabei zu haben und von all den Leuten gefeiert zu werden, war einfach unglaublich.”
The 33-year-old Bayern Munich striker, who is the first English player since Michael Owen in 2001 to win the Ballon d’Or, described the recent period as a “schwieriger Balanceakt” while trying to balance professional obligations with the celebrations. “Es waren ein paar verrückte Wochen. Das zehrt natürlich an einem – emotional, körperlich und mental,” Kane said.
England controlled possession early against a Croatian side defending deeper than in previous encounters. The hosts broke through in the 24th minute when Kane delivered a long ball into the area, which Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham headed down for Chelsea attacker Morgan Rogers to bundle past goalkeeper Dominik Livaković, according to sportschau.de.
Croatia equalized in the 59th minute following a corner kick. Jarell Quansah played a loose header back toward goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, allowing Petar Sučić to intercept and score.
“Wir haben uns viele Chancen herausgespielt – genug, um ein drittes Tor zu erzielen,” England manager Thomas Tuchel told sportschau.de. “Und dann kann es natürlich immer eng und schwierig werden, weil Kroatien bei Standards gefährlich war.”
The lead lasted only five minutes. After Ivan Smolčić fouled an opponent inside the box, Kane converted from the penalty spot in the 64th minute to restore England’s advantage.
Croatia pushed for a late equalizer, with Nikola Vlašić missing wide after receiving a pass from Modrić, while a stoppage-time effort from substitute Ante Budimir also went wide, sportschau.de reported. England substitute James Garner had a goal disallowed for offside.
With qualification for the Nations League final tournament secured, England travels to face Spain in Madrid on Sunday at 20:45 UTC+1, while Croatia hosts the Czech Republic in Osijek.
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