England secured a place in the quarterfinals of the Nations League soccer tournament on Thursday, beating Croatia 2-1 at home on the fifth matchday. Harry Kane made a record 126th appearance for England and scored one goal.
Before the match, Prince William and Peter Shilton, who had shared the previous record with Kane, presented him with a commemorative jersey bearing his name and the number 126.
The 33-year-old Bayern Munich striker scored his 92nd goal for England in the 64th minute from a penalty kick. Kane had said earlier that his goal now is to score 100 goals for England.
Morgan Rogers put the hosts ahead in the first half, and Petar Sucić equalized in the 59th minute.
In the standings of Group A3, England trails leader Spain, which has a perfect 15 points and had already clinched a quarterfinal spot. On Friday, the world champions beat the Czech Republic 2-0 on the road. Alex Baena and Marc Pubill scored the goals.
In Group A1, France failed to take its chance to advance to the quarterfinals. Coach Zinedine Zidane’s side needed a point against Italy but lost 3-1 in Milan.
The match started well for the visitors, as Michael Olise gave them the lead in the 10th minute after a mistake by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Francesco Pio Esposito then scored twice for Italy, and Davide Frattesi added another goal.
In the standings, Italy and France each have 10 points, while Belgium has nine after winning 2-1 away against Turkey. On Sunday, Belgium will host Italy, and France will play at home against Turkey. (PAP)
