Kane penalty sends England into Nations League quarter-finals with Croatia win

England secured a place in the Nations League quarter-finals with a 2-1 victory over Croatia at Wembley, where Harry Kane scored the winning penalty on his record-breaking 126th appearance. BBC Sport reported that the England captain's second-half spot-kick settled the match after Croatia had cancelled out Morgan Rogers' opening goal.

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The occasion began with recognition of Kane's new England men's appearance record, surpassing former goalkeeper Peter Shilton. The 33-year-old Bayern Munich forward led the side out beneath a large display marking the milestone and lifted his recently won Ballon d'Or trophy. Prince William and Shilton were among those who honoured him, while Kane's children joined him for the celebrations.

Thomas Tuchel's team took until the 24th minute to make the breakthrough. Kane dropped into a deeper position and sent a chipped pass towards Jude Bellingham, whose delivery back across goal allowed Rogers to finish from close range. The move gave England the lead before the visitors drew level in the second half.

Croatia's equaliser arrived in the 59th minute following a mistake by Jarell Quansah. After a corner, the centre-back attempted to head the ball back to Jordan Pickford but failed to put enough on it. Petar Sucic reached the ball and finished, bringing Croatia back into the contest after England's first-half advantage.

Five minutes later, Quansah was involved at the other end when England were awarded a penalty for Ivan Smolcic holding and pulling him at a corner. Following a video assistant referee check, Kane sent his penalty down the centre of the goal. It was his 92nd goal for England and the 27th he had scored from the penalty spot.

England subsequently had a potential third goal ruled out. Substitute James Garner drove a low shot past Dominik Livakovic after being set up by Bellingham, but Bellingham was judged to have been offside before supplying the pass. The disallowed effort left Kane's penalty as the difference between the sides.

The result confirmed England's place in next year's quarter-finals. Their next match is against Group 3 leaders Spain on Sunday, with victory enough to move England above the world champions in the standings. Spain beat the Czech Republic 2-0 in their own Nations League fixture.