England booked their spot in the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League Quarter-Finals with a 2-1 win over Croatia at Wembley Stadium, London.
Harry Kane dispatched a 64th-minute penalty on his record 126th international appearance to seal a quarter-final spot for the Three Lions.
Morgan Rogers initially put England into a 24th-minute lead with a scruffy close-range finish, before Petar Sucic equalised with a 59th-minute close-range touch on Jarell Quansah’s careless headed backpass.
England remain second in League A3 behind Spain whilst Croatia remain third ahead of Czech Republic with just one match left for the quartet in the group.
Pre-match celebrations centred on Kane’s record 126th senior international cap as he surpassed Peter Shilton’s 125 caps and recent Ballon d’Or success, but Croatia enjoyed the better start once the match commenced albeit without any clear-cut quality.
England soon settled into the match but struggled to create their own chances until Kane curled a 24th-minute cross to the right post, where Bellingham flicked the ball down but Gvardiol scruffed his attempt to deflect the ball away and Rogers was alert to poke the ball in to break the deadlock.
Lewis Hall nearly doubled England’s lead just five minutes later from Anthony Gordon’s cutback pass, yet his shot was deflected wide by Josip Misic.
Croatia though managed to resiliently clear subsequent England attacks but struggled to create much quality before half time aside from a long-range 33rd-minute strike from Mateo Kovacic, which safely flew into Jordan Pickford’s arms under no pressure.
England upped their intensity early in the second half as Gordon curled wide twice, whilst Stanisic blocked Kane’s 51st-minute shot.
Croatia however capitalised on a sloppy defensive blunder from a 59th-minute corner as Gvardiol’s header was sloppily nodded by Quansah towards Pickford, yet Sucic managed to get a crucial touch to divert it in past the keeper to restore parity.
Croatia’s renewed optimism however quickly dissipated just two minutes later as Ivan Smolcic tugged Quansah to the ground, which resulted in a penalty after a VAR check that Kane calmly slotted in down the middle to restore England’s lead.
Croatia though nearly threatened a 81st-minute equaliser but Nikola Vlasic fired his shot wide of the right corner under pressure from Dan Burn.
England eventually rode their luck defensively to see out the win and set up a top-of-group decider away to Spain on Sunday, although James Garner saw his first international senior goal in the 85th minute disallowed due to an offside position from Bellingham.
What’s Next?
England visit Spain at Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid in a top-of-group showdown on Sunday 15 November at 8:45pm CET (7:45pm GMT).
Croatia meanwhile conclude their campaign against Czech Republic at Opus Arena, Osijek, at the same time on Sunday evening.
Teams
England: Jordan Pickford, Trent Alexander-Arnold (White 78′), Jarell Quansah, Dan Burn, Lewis Hall, Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice (Garner 77′), Morgan Rogers, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon (Ngumoha 77′), Harry Kane
Substitutes: Jobe Bellingham, Jarrad Branthwaite, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Eberechi Eze, James Garner, Morgan Gibbs-White, James Hill, Josh King, Rio Ngumoha, Jason Steele, James Trafford, Ben White
Croatia: Dominik Livakovic, Ivan Smolcic (Marco Pasalic 76′), Luka Vuskovic, Josip Stanisic, Josko Gvardiol, Josip Misic (Modric 76′), Mateo Kovacic, Nikola Vlasic, Petar Sucic (Mario Pasalic 70′), Martin Baturina, Igor Matanovic (Budimir 70′)
Substitutes: Dion Drena Beljo, Ante Budimir, Niko Galesic, Simun Hrgovic, Dominik Kotarski, Lovro Maher, Luka Modric, Ivor Pandur, Mario Pasalic, Marco Pasalic, Duje Caleta-Car, Marin Soticek
Referee – Morten Krogh (Denmark)