England beat Croatia 2-1 to reach Nations League quarter-finals

England through to the last eight

England reached the Nations League quarter-finals on Thursday, 12 November, with a 2-1 win over Croatia at Wembley. They are the third side through after Portugal and Spain, and the first time since their bronze medal in the inaugural 2019 edition that they have advanced from the group stage. Morgan Rogers gave England the lead in the 24th minute, and Petar Sucić levelled for Croatia in the 59th.

Harry Kane converted a penalty in the 64th minute, taking his England tally to 92 goals and restoring the lead.

Kane's record and the scoring race

Kane, 33, made his 126th appearance for England, passing Peter Shilton's 125, a mark that had stood since England's fourth-place finish at the 1990 World Cup. He leads this edition's scorers with seven goals and is level with Robert Lewandowski in sixth on the all-time international scoring list. Cristiano Ronaldo still holds the record with 146 goals, and he bid farewell to Portugal a week before this match.

Group A3 and the Sunday decider

England sit second in Group A3 with 12 points, behind Spain on 15 after a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic. Álex Baena scored Spain's penalty in the 39th minute and Marc Pubill added a goal in the 90+6th minute. Czech captain Ladislav Krejci was sent off in the 69th minute, and Spain's run of 43 games without defeat in regulation time or extra time, with 34 wins and nine draws, was extended to a world record. Croatia are third on three points, while the Czech Republic have none. Spain host England on Sunday, 15 November, with Lamine Yamal expected to be available again. The group winners are seeded for the quarter-final draw.

Spain15

England12

Croatia3

Czech Republic0

Spain

15 points

England

12 points

Croatia

3 points

Czech Republic

0 points

Data from the article text

Other groups and the relegation fight

In Group A1, Italy and France lead on 10 points, with Belgium third on nine. In Group A2, the Netherlands and Greece share the top spot on eight points, and Germany sit third on five. Portugal have 12 points from four wins in four games, ahead of Denmark on six, while Wales and Norway share the bottom place on three points each. Croatia and the Czech Republic are trying to avoid the direct drop to League B, which is reserved for the two lowest-placed teams in the top tier. The two worst third-placed teams and the two best fourth-placed teams go into play-offs.