London (TIP): Harry Kane celebrated a landmark night for England with another match-winning performance as the Three Lions defeated Croatia 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday, Nov 12. The England captain became his country’s most-capped men’s international before scoring his 92nd goal to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.
Italy produced one of the night’s biggest results, recovering from an early setback to beat France 3-1 at San Siro. Pio Esposito scored twice as Italy registered their first home victory against France since 1962, leaving both sides level on points at the top of Group A1.
World champions Spain continued their impressive run with a 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic, maintaining their perfect record in the competition. Alex Baena and Marc Pubill were on target as Spain extended their unbeaten run to 43 matches.
Belgium also kept their qualification hopes alive with a 2-1 comeback win against Trkiye, while Thursday’s results set up an intriguing final round of group fixtures. England and Spain have already secured quarter-final places, but their meeting in Madrid on Sunday will determine who finishes top of Group A3.
Kane’s 126th appearance took him past Peter Shilton to become England’s outright record holder for men’s international caps. He marked the occasion by extending his national scoring record, converting a second-half penalty to seal a 2-1 win at Wembley.
Morgan Rogers opened the scoring in the 24th minute after Jude Bellingham helped create the opportunity. Croatia responded through Petar Sucic in the 59th minute, but England regained the lead five minutes later after Jarell Quansah was brought down inside the box.
Kane stepped up and converted from the spot to take his international tally to 92 goals.
“It’s a perfect opportunity now Sunday to try to prove ourselves,” Kane told ITV Sport, looking ahead to the meeting with Spain.
England need to beat Spain by at least two goals to finish top of the group, having lost 3-2 in the reverse fixture in September.
Italy had to recover from an early setback after Michael Olise capitalised on a mistake by Gianluigi Donnarumma to put France ahead. Pio Esposito restored parity in the 26th minute, finishing Nicol Cambiaghi’s delivery to bring the hosts back into the contest.
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