Kane penalty secures England win over Croatia at Wembley as he becomes most capped with 126th appearance

Harry Kane converted a penalty to secure England's 2-1 Nations League victory over Croatia at Wembley on 12 November 2026, the same night he made his 126th England appearance and overtook Peter Shilton as the nation's most capped men's player. The spot-kick was Kane's 92nd England goal and his 27th successful penalty.

The evening carried heavy focus on Kane: he walked out for kick-off with his four children beneath a giant tifo declaring him "England's finest" and hoisted his Ballon d'Or before quickfire presentations from Peter Shilton, Luka Modric and Prince William, who brought respectively a small trinket, a replica of the first football brought to Croatia in 1880 and a framed commemorative Kane shirt. England arrived having beaten Croatia 7-0 in Rijeka last month, but Wembley produced a subdued start to the match.

Kane played a key part in the opening goal midway through the first half, floating a diagonal to Jude Bellingham on the right of the Croatia area; Bellingham volleyed first-time, Josko Gvardiol tangled his feet and Morgan Rogers reached back to slash the ball down and in from close range. Thomas Tuchel selected Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back ahead of Ben White, with Alexander-Arnold pushing high and Rogers operating from the right wing.

The first half was controlled but low on intensity, with Kane dropping deep and even taking throw-ins in an attempt to influence play. At the start of the second half Kane had a close-range effort blocked and Bellingham failed to find a drive after Anthony Gordon attempted to win a penalty with an obvious dive.

Croatia levelled just before the hour when Petar Sucic profited from a defensive error after a corner: Gvardiol challenged for the high ball, Jarell Quansah attempted to head back toward Jordan Pickford and failed to spot Sucic, who stretched out to touch home. Later, a tussle inside the Croatia area saw Quansah feel Ivan Smolcic tug his shirt; the video assistant awarded a penalty and Kane converted with his familiar stuttered run, clipping the ball up the middle narrowly past Dominik Livakovic's trailing leg.

The closing stages saw Croatia press for an equaliser and England manage late moments of disorder: Nikola Vlasic struck narrowly wide in the 82nd minute, Jarell Quansah produced a saving tackle on substitute Ante Budimir, and James Garner appeared to score only for Jude Bellingham to be flagged offside. Ben White was booed when he replaced Alexander-Arnold, but England held on and were judged good value for the win.

The victory guarantees England a place in the Nations League quarter-finals in March and sends them to Madrid on Sunday to play Spain with a chance to win the group; they would have to beat the world champions to do that.