England secured their place in the knockout phase of the Nations League after beating Croatia 2-1 in a tense match. Slaven Bilic’s side, determined to avoid a repeat of last month’s 7-0 defeat to England in Rijeka, looked much more solid from the start. However, goals from Morgan Rogers and captain Harry Kane kept England second in the group, confirming their qualification for the Nations League quarter-finals in March. The match at Wembley started at a slow tempo, with neither side able to establish clear dominance in the early stages.
Elliot Anderson shot on target in the 16th minute, while Croatia’s Josip Misic sent a shot wide in the middle of the first half. Chelsea forward Morgan Rogers broke the deadlock in the 24th minute in a somewhat fortunate way, after a fine move by the home side. Kane passed the ball to Jude Bellingham on the right edge of the penalty area, and the Real Madrid player immediately returned it to Rogers. Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol had a chance to clear the danger but got tangled up, giving Rogers the opportunity to send the ball into the net past goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. England began to find their rhythm but could not add to the score before half-time.
Thomas Tuchel’s side was again more dangerous at the start of the second half. However, the visitors equalised against the run of play just before the hour mark, after a clear error from English defender Jarell Quansah, who inadvertently deflected a headed ball towards Jordan Pickford following a Croatian corner. The ball fell to Petar Sucic, who put it into the net. Only a few minutes later, England went ahead again, with Bayer Leverkusen defender Quansah once again in the spotlight after his shirt was pulled inside the penalty area.
Referee Morten Krogh initially did not award a penalty, but was sent to the monitor by VAR and pointed to the spot. Kane did not miss, scoring his 92nd goal for England, an extended record. Nikola Vlasic gave England a moment of fear, shooting just wide of Jordan Pickford’s goal, showing that Croatia were still in the game. James Garner thought he had scored England’s third goal after a pass from Bellingham, but Bellingham was in an offside position when he received the ball.
Golden Boot winner Kane made his 126th appearance when the match kicked off, surpassing former goalkeeper Peter Shilton. A giant banner was raised before kick-off featuring a photo of the 33-year-old and the words “England’s Greatest”. Shilton was part of a pre-match presentation honouring the captain of the “Three Lions”, alongside the patron of the Football Association, Prince William. England remain second in Group A3 of the Nations League, as group leaders Spain beat the Czech Republic 2-0, but are now assured of a place in the quarter-finals. Spain and England will face each other in Madrid on Sunday.
Source: France 24 Live News