On a night made for ceremony at Wembley, Harry Kane reached his 126th England cap, a record that sits quietly among the long and uneven story of a national side. The game itself was untidy and far from England's best, yet it ended with the captain doing what he has learned to do after a long memory of a missed penalty in Qatar. The win carries England into the Nations League quarter-finals, and a trip to Madrid now awaits, where a result against the world champions will say something about who England are becoming.
Harry Kane marks 126th England cap with penalty winner as England beat Croatia 2-1
A simple kick of the ball honed through thousands of repetitions
Mark
Why does a penalty in a so-so win get so much attention?
Mimi
Because of the timing. It was Kane's record 126th cap, and the goal came from the same kind of kick he missed against France in Qatar. He has scored the next 30 since.
Mark
So the story is partly about repetition.
Mimi
Yes. He has practised every variety of penalty, and Livakovic got a leg to this one and still couldn't stop it.
Luke
Careful with the "practice paid off" line. That is the writer's reading. What's confirmed is the run of 30 penalties and the fact that Kane said the miss made him improve.
Mark
And the performance around him?
Mimi
Messy. Alexander-Arnold lost the ball near his own box, Hall's flick went off the pitch, and Quansah's header back gave Croatia their equaliser.
Luke
Worth noting that Quansah also won the penalty. His run drew the shirt pulling from Smolcic.
Mark
Did anything go unclear?
Luke
The summary notes say the foul was on Rogers's run. The match account says Quansah's. I'd go with the match account, but the discrepancy is real.
Mark
What should we watch next?
Mimi
Madrid on Sunday. A win there would give England top spot in the group.
Luke
That's the aim, not a forecast. England lost 3-2 to Spain at Wembley in September, and nothing here says how they'll line up.
El Pulso
- Wembley honoured Kane's record cap with banners, gifts and a captain's bow, but the football that followed was scrappy and uneasy.
- Sloppy passes from Alexander-Arnold and Hall, and a Quansah header that dropped to Pickford, let Croatia level through Sucic.
- A VAR review turned a tight moment into a penalty, and Kane stepped up to dink it past Livakovic with the weight of his past miss behind him.
- England have secured a place in the Nations League quarter-finals and now head to Madrid on Sunday, where a win could seal top spot against Spain.
On a night made for ceremony at Wembley, Harry Kane reached his 126th England cap, a record that sits quietly among the long and uneven story of a national side. The game itself was untidy and far from England's best, yet it ended with the captain doing what he has learned to do after a long memory of a missed penalty in Qatar. The win carries England into the Nations League quarter-finals, and a trip to Madrid now awaits, where a result against the world champions will say something about who England are becoming.
Before kick-off, Harry Kane walked out with his four children and held up the Ballon d'Or while Wembley celebrated his 126th England cap, a record. Banners, a golden crest from Peter Shilton, an old ball from Luka Modric and a framed shirt from Prince William marked the occasion.
The football was less polished. England were sloppier than they had been against Croatia in Rijeka, with giveaways from Alexander-Arnold and Hall and a Quansah header that Sucic punished to level the score. Then Quansah's run drew a foul from Smolcic, which the referee missed until VAR intervened. Kane stepped up and dinked the penalty down the middle, his 92nd England goal, carrying the memory of a Qatar miss that he has since turned into a lesson.
The win sends England into the Nations League quarter-finals. On Sunday they travel to Madrid to face Spain, where victory would secure top spot in the group and a chance to show their standing against the world champions.
Before kick-off, Harry Kane walked out of the tunnel with his four children beside him, then spent a couple of minutes holding up the Ballon d'Or. It was the night of his 126th England cap, a record, and Wembley had prepared for it. A giant banner behind one goal showed the captain roaring at the sky, with the words "England's finest" and "Kane 126" across it. He was handed three presents: a golden crest from Peter Shilton, an old football from Croatia captain Luka Modric, and a framed shirt from Prince William.
The match itself was less polished. Earlier in the week Kane had been asked to name the lowest point of his 125 caps. He went back to Qatar, where he sent a penalty over Hugo Lloris's crossbar against France. He has scored the next 30 penalties of his career, and said the bad moments had helped him improve. So it fit that he decided this game from the spot, with his 92nd England goal. He dinked it down the middle, and Dominik Livakovic got a trailing leg to it but could not keep it out. Since that miss Kane has trained for every kind of penalty: the stutter, the run-up, the blast, the dink, either corner, or the space a goalkeeper leaves behind.
England were far from their best. They had beaten Croatia 4-2 at the World Cup and 7-0 in Rijeka last month, but this Croatia side was more cautious and England were sloppier. Trent Alexander-Arnold gave the ball away on the edge of his own box. Lewis Hall tried a flick that went straight off the pitch. Jude Bellingham showed frustration at teammates' mistakes, though his own game was also below its usual level.
England found their footing midway through the first half, and Kane created the opening goal with a raking pass to Bellingham at the far post. Bellingham crossed first time, and Morgan Rogers bounced the ball in from three yards.
Kane's first big chance came early in the second half. Declan Rice cut the ball back to him in the box and the goal looked open, but Josip Stanisic lunged across to block the shot.
Croatia equalised a few minutes later. Jarell Quansah tried to head the ball back to Jordan Pickford in a crowded penalty area. Pickford was not expecting it, and Petar Sucic reached the ball first and put it into the roof of the net.
Quansah helped make up for it. His run drew what looked like shirt pulling from Ivan Smolcic. Danish referee Morten Krogh missed it at first, but VAR stepped in and a penalty was given. Once Kane put the ball on the spot, the outcome seemed settled. The win sends England into the Nations League quarter-finals.
England now travel to Madrid to face Spain on Sunday. A win would secure top spot in the group, and beating the world champions at home would say something about England's standing, after a narrow 3-2 defeat to them at Wembley in September. Kane will win cap 127 there. Since winning the Ballon d'Or he has been clear about what remains: 100 England goals, a Champions League with Bayern Munich, and a major trophy with England.
Citas Notables
The Qatar miss made him improve, and a lot of the bad things have helped him get to where he is now.— Harry Kane
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