# Kane Marks Record 126th England Cap With Winner as Three Lions Beat Croatia 2-1 to Reach Nations League Quarter-Finals Source: SportsBriefly (https://sportsbriefly.com) Canonical URL: https://sportsbriefly.com/en/soccer/kane-marks-record-126th-england-cap-with-winner-as-three-lions-beat-croatia-2-1 Language: en Published: 2026-11-13T15:00:54.223+00:00 Updated: 2026-11-13T15:00:54.297591+00:00 > Harry Kane scored the winner on his record-breaking 126th England appearance as England beat Croatia 2-1 at Wembley. ## TL;DR - Harry Kane scored the winner on his record-breaking 126th England appearance as England beat Croatia 2-1 at Wembley. - Morgan Rogers opened the scoring before Petar Sucic equalised, and Kane converted a 64th-minute penalty after a VAR review. - The win secures England's place in the Nations League quarter-finals, with a group decider against Spain to come on Sunday. - Kane now has 92 England goals and has passed Peter Shilton as the most-capped England men's player. - Croatia suffered a fourth straight defeat despite a spirited second-half display at Wembley Stadium. ## Key points - Harry Kane scored the winner on his record-breaking 126th England appearance as England beat Croatia 2-1 at Wembley. - Morgan Rogers opened the scoring before Petar Sucic equalised, and Kane converted a 64th-minute penalty after a VAR review. - The win secures England's place in the Nations League quarter-finals, with a group decider against Spain to come on Sunday. - Kane now has 92 England goals and has passed Peter Shilton as the most-capped England men's player. - Croatia suffered a fourth straight defeat despite a spirited second-half display at Wembley Stadium. LONDON — Harry Kane chose the perfect night to rewrite England's record books. On the evening he became his country's most-capped men's footballer, the captain scored the winning goal from the penalty spot as England beat Croatia 2-1 at Wembley Stadium on Thursday and secured a place in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals. Kane's 126th appearance took him past Peter Shilton's long-standing record of 125 caps, and he marked the milestone in the manner that has defined his international career: with a goal that mattered. Morgan Rogers had given England a first-half lead, Petar Sucic equalised for Croatia just before the hour, and Kane restored the advantage from twelve yards in the 64th minute to take his England tally to 92 goals. ![Morgan Rogers playing for England against Panama at the 2026 World Cup](https://api.sportsbriefly.com/storage/v1/object/public/media/api/1794582034894-o9a541-soccer-inside1-2026-11-13-evening.jpg) The night began as a celebration. Kane walked out to a presentation honouring his record, having also shown off the Ballon d'Or he won earlier this year, and the crowd of 80,484 rose to acclaim a player who has carried England's attack for more than a decade. What followed, however, was a performance that owed far more to resolve than to fluency, with both sides trading errors before England's captain settled the contest. England had struggled to impose themselves in the opening stages, with Elliot Anderson firing over in the 16th minute and Croatia's Josip Misic flashing a shot wide midway through the first half. The breakthrough arrived in the 24th minute from a move of genuine quality. Kane, dropping deep into a playmaker's role, floated a diagonal pass to Jude Bellingham on the right of the penalty area, and the Real Madrid midfielder cushioned a first-time ball across the face of goal. Josko Gvardiol, the Manchester City defender, tangled himself attempting the clearance, and Rogers was on hand to force the loose ball past goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic from close range. ![Wembley Stadium viewed from Wembley Walk in London](https://api.sportsbriefly.com/storage/v1/object/public/media/api/1794582051109-x0bzzx-soccer-inside2-2026-11-13-evening.jpg) It was Bellingham's sixth assist for England in 2026, the most by any England player in a calendar year since Raheem Sterling in 2019, and it gave Thomas Tuchel's side a platform they never entirely looked comfortable on. Croatia, beaten 7-0 by England in the reverse fixture last month, were more organised and more aggressive this time, and they deserved their equaliser when it came in the 59th minute. The goal was a gift. After Gvardiol rose to meet a corner, Jarell Quansah attempted to head the bouncing ball back towards goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, only to nod it into the path of Sucic, who reacted quickest and stabbed it home from close range. It was the Bayer Leverkusen defender's second difficult moment of a testing evening, but his response would prove decisive. Parity lasted barely five minutes. At an England corner in the 61st minute, Croatia right-back Ivan Smolcic reached out and grabbed Quansah's shirt, wrestling him to the ground as he attacked the ball. Danish referee Morten Krogh initially waved play on, but after a VAR review at the pitchside monitor he pointed to the spot and showed Smolcic the only yellow card of the night. Kane waited, cleaned his boots, and sent his penalty straight down the middle as Livakovic dived to his left. It was his 27th successful penalty for England and his seventh goal of this Nations League campaign, making him the competition's leading scorer. Croatia pushed hard for a second equaliser in the closing stages. Nikola Vlasic fired just wide of Pickford's goal, and the England goalkeeper made a couple of important late saves as the visitors committed men forward. England thought they had a third when James Garner converted a Bellingham cut-back, only for the goal to be ruled out for a narrow offside against Bellingham in the build-up. Luka Modric, who started on the bench, came on with twenty minutes remaining to earn his 207th cap for Croatia, but even his experience could not find a way through. The victory moved England to 12 points from five matches in Group A3 and confirmed their place in the quarter-finals next March, regardless of Sunday's final group game. That fixture, away to Spain, will decide who tops the group: Spain beat the Czech Republic 2-0 on Thursday to stay ahead of England, so only a win in Spain will lift Tuchel's side to first place. For Croatia, the defeat was a fourth in a row and left them still searching for a first-ever Nations League win over England in four meetings, with a 9-1 aggregate scoreline across the last two fixtures telling its own story. For all the scrappiness of the performance, the night belonged to Kane. Ninety-two goals in 126 appearances, 39 more than Wayne Rooney, the next-highest scorer in England's history, and now the appearance record too. Records of that kind are rarely claimed on quiet nights, and this one was no exception: a mistake, a review, a penalty, and a captain who has made a career of delivering exactly when England need him most. Mentions: Harry Kane, Morgan Rogers, Petar Sucic, Jude Bellingham, Jarell Quansah, Ivan Smolcic, Dominik Livakovic, Josko Gvardiol, Luka Modric, Thomas Tuchel, Wembley Stadium, UEFA Nations League, Peter Shilton, Jordan Pickford, Morten Krogh, Spain, Croatia, England, Ballon d'Or, Wayne Rooney ## Sources - [skysports.com](https://www.skysports.com/football/england-vs-croatia/live/554088) - [malaymail.com](https://www.malaymail.com/news/sports/2026/11/13/england-reach-nations-league-quarters-as-kane-scores-winner-italy-hand-zidane-first-france-defeat/243037) - [news.cgtn.com](https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-11-13/Kane-breaks-England-appearances-record-scores-winner-against-Croatia-1S21BAdIX5K/p.html) - [flashscore.co.uk](https://www.flashscore.co.uk/news/football-uefa-nations-league-england-beat-croatia-as-harry-kane-scores-in-record-breaking-appearance/ANJtJ86T/) - [tntsports.co.uk](https://www.tntsports.co.uk/football/uefa-nations-league/2026-2027/live-england-croatia_mtc20005903/live.shtml)