Kane reflects on landmark night

Harry Kane reflected on a memorable night at Wembley, after his second-half penalty sealed a 2-1 victory over Croatia in what was his record-breaking appearance for the Three Lions.

The England captain won his 126th cap to set a new record for the men’s senior team and was honoured before the game on his latest accolade, with a pre-match presentation featuring FA Patron HRH Prince of Wales and Peter Shilton, whose record of 125 caps he usurped.

Accompanied onto the pitch by his four children, and also honoured by Croatia with a presentation from his former Tottenham Hotspur teammate and fellow Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric, it was a proud start to the evening for the 32 year old.

And the Bayern Munich man capped the night off by winning the match for his side from the penalty spot, after Morgan Rogers had given England a first-half lead only for Croatia to equalise through Petar Sucic.

“It was an incredible gesture and reception at the start of the game but once it starts, it’s just about getting the three points,” said Kane, after the result secured England’s place in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals next March before their final group game with Spain on Sunday.

“We were playing against a tough team who had a point to prove and for large spells, we did well. It got a bit tight towards the end but overall, it’s a good win and sets us up nicely for Sunday.

“We gave away a few too many easy balls, especially in our own half, which killed our momentum a bit but we definitely had enough chances to score two or three but we were playing against a good team.

“We’re in the midst of a tough run of games, for club and country, so you can’t expect everything to be perfect. We know we can improve on a few bits, and we will need to if we want to win on Sunday, but ultimately it was about getting the win tonight.”

While progress in the Nations League was secured with the win, England will now head to Madrid at the weekend knowing that top spot in the group is up for grabs with a victory.

And Kane believes it’ll be another good test for Thomas Tuchel’s men following their narrow defeat against them at Wembley in September.

“After the first game, when we lost against them, we knew we left a bit out there,” he added.

“We knew we could have done a bit better. We said to ourselves let’s win every game until the next one. It’s a perfect opportunity on Sunday to try and prove ourselves."