Kane marks record 126th cap with winner as England reach Nations League quarterfinals

Harry Kane celebrated becoming England's most-capped player by scoring the winning goal from the penalty spot in a 2-1 victory over Croatia at Wembley on Thursday, a result that booked England's place in the Nations League quarterfinals.

The 33-year-old captain's 126th appearance took him clear of former goalkeeper Peter Shilton, with whom he had been level. A giant banner bearing Kane's picture and the words "England's Finest" was raised before kickoff, and Shilton took part in a pre-match presentation honouring the skipper alongside Football Association patron Prince William.

Croatia, coached by Slaven Bilic, arrived in London determined to avoid a repeat of last month's 7-0 thrashing by England in Rijeka, and the visitors looked far more solid from the opening whistle. Chances were scarce early on, with Elliot Anderson firing over in the 16th minute and Josip Misic flashing a shot wide for Croatia midway through the first half.

Morgan Rogers broke the deadlock in the 24th minute in somewhat fortunate fashion. Kane floated a pass to Jude Bellingham on the right of the penalty area, and the Real Madrid midfielder cushioned the ball first time across the box. Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol had a chance to clear but got in a tangle, allowing the Chelsea forward to poke the ball past goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.

England sought a second goal before half-time but could not add to their lead, and Croatia levelled against the run of play just before the hour mark. Defender Jarell Quansah misdirected a close-range header towards his own goal following a Croatia corner, and Petar Sucic was on hand to stab the ball past Jordan Pickford.

Minutes later Quansah was involved at the other end when his shirt was tugged inside the Croatian penalty area. Referee Morten Krogh initially waved play on, but after being sent to the monitor by the video assistant referee he awarded the penalty. Kane made no mistake, drilling home a record-extending 92nd international goal.

Croatia refused to fold and Nikola Vlasic fired just wide of Pickford's goal to give the home crowd a scare. James Garner later had the ball in the net from a Bellingham cut-back, but the effort was ruled out because Bellingham had been offside when he received the ball.

The win kept Thomas Tuchel's side second in Group A3 behind Spain, who beat Czechia 2-0 in Prague on Thursday, and confirmed England's spot in the last eight in March.

England now have an immediate chance to avenge their 3-2 defeat to the world champions in their Nations League opener when they travel to Madrid on Sunday. "After the first game when we lost here against them, we knew we left a bit out there," Kane told ITV. "We knew we could've done a bit better. We said to ourselves, 'Let's win every game until the next one and see what happens'. It's the perfect opportunity now on Sunday to try and prove ourselves."