It ended England 2 Croatia 1.
There were 80,484 inside Wembley to watch a match that didn’t quite live up to a repeat of the astonishing 7-0 victory away from home in the reverse fixture last month.
Croatia played better and made it difficult for an England side who were below par.
It was a night all about Harry Kane of course, as he created a new England record with his 126th appearance.
The England captain lifted his Ballon d’Or trophy on the pitch before kick-off.
Harry Kane declaring: “Breaking the record is a massive thing in the history of our game, seeing the tifo there, having my kids with me, and being presented by all the people was beyond dreams, so of course you have got to take it in…It is an important milestone in England’s history but once the whistle goes, the most important thing is the match and trying to win.”
An uninspiring opening 23 minutes were then lifted by a very decent team goal, Lewis Hall involved early on as he passed to Harry Kane and he sent it on to Jude Bellingham, when the Real Madrid player cut the ball back it was Morgan Rogers who bundled it in from close range.
That didn’t really spark the match into life and the England midfield and attack didn’t sparkle.
Lewis Hall easily the best player on the pitch as he rubber stamped the fact he is clearly the best left-back England have.
The worst two players on the pitch were former Liverpool pair Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jarell Quansah. Quansah making an appalling mistake on 59 minutes when gifting the equaliser. After a corner was taken, Quansah trying to head the ball back to Pickford and instead presented Petar Sucic with the easiest of finishes. Meanwhile Alexander-Arnold with his usual combination of poor defending and laziness as he strolled about.
Only five minutes later though it was VAR deciding Quansah had been fouled at the other end of the pitch at an England corner.
Harry Kane obliged by scoring his 27th penalty for England, now 92 goals in all.
That was about it, the final tally of four shots on target for England and five for Croatia summing things up.
The victory secured England’s place in the quarter-finals of the Nations League and on Sunday the travel to face Spain (who beat the Czech Republic 2-0 last night), knowing that an away win will see England top the group.
Sami Mokbel, Senior Football Correspondent at BBC Sport, gave his England player ratings. All of the England players given 6 out of 10 apart from two. Mokbel giving Quansah 5 out of 10 and making Lewis Hall man of the match with 7 out of 10.
The BBC Sport man saying this about the Newcastle United pair:
‘Dan Burn – Not picked in the original squad but started. Unspectacular but largely reliable in the heart of defence. 6’
‘Lewis Hall – Another effective contribution from the Newcastle defender. Is he now England’s first-choice left-back? 7’
Lewis on the left 🔥
#ThreeLions | @eonenergyuk https://t.co/sRqm5TssqT
— England (@England) November 12, 2026
BBC Sport asked England fans to rate all the players and their combined ratings say it all for the starting eleven:
6.75 Lewis Hall
6.72 Dan Burn
6.60 Harry Kane
6.26 Elliot Anderson
6.12 Morgan Rogers
5.92 Jude Bellingham
5.86 Jordan Pickford
5.85 Anthony Gordon
5.81 Declan Rice
5.52 Trent Alexander-Arnold
5.04 Jarrell Quansah
Final scoreline:
England 2 Croatia 1
England team v Croatia:
Pickford, Alexander-Arnold (White 78), Quansah, Burn, Hall, Rice (Garner 77), Anderson, Bellingham, Gordon (Ngumoha 77), Rogers, Kane
Unused substitutes:
Trafford, Steele, Gibbs-White, Hill, Branthwaite, Jobe Bellingham, Calvert-Lewin, Eze, King