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Harry Kane is on the brink of history. The England captain equalled Peter Shilton’s record of 125 caps during the last international window, and if he features against Croatia at Wembley on Thursday night, he will become the most-capped player in the history of the England men’s team.
It’s been quite a year for Kane. Fresh from winning the 2026 Ballon d’Or, he leads a side that has bounced back strongly from its World Cup semi-final exit in the summer. England finished third at the tournament, and Thomas Tuchel’s side have impressed in the Nations League.
After losing 3-2 to world champions Spain at Wembley in their opener, England beat Czechia twice and then thrashed Croatia 7-0 in October.
Tuchel’s men sit in second place in Group A3 and know that if they avoid defeat against Croatia then that will be enough to secure their quarter-final place. To finish top of the group, England would need to beat Croatia and Spain and ensure they have a higher goal difference than the world champions.
Croatia will be determined to avoid a repeat of last month’s hammering. Luka Modrić, now 41, remains their most influential player.
England have won eight of their 13 meetings with Croatia, with Croatia winning three and two ending in draws.
World
| # | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Last 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 12 | W W W W |
| 2 | England | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 9 | W W W L |
| 3 | Croatia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 14 | -10 | 3 | L L L W |
| 4 | Czechia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | -8 | 0 | L L L L |
Tuchel will have to rethink his defence after a series of withdrawals. Marc Guéhi pulled out of the squad with a hip injury picked up in Manchester City’s defeat to Nottingham Forest. Newcastle’s Dan Burn has been called up in his place.
Ezri Konsa will also miss Thursday’s game, although he is expected to return to full training later in the week ahead of the Spain match. Bournemouth’s James Hill, who has played every minute of the Premier League season, has been handed his first senior call-up.
Tuchel must decide whether to play Burn, give Hill his debut or move Jarell Quansah into the middle and bring Ben White or Trent Alexander-Arnold in at right-back.
Goalkeepers Jordan Pickford and James Trafford will share the number one jersey across the two games and it seems logical that the experienced Everton man will be held back for the Spain clash.
There are four uncapped players in the squad: Hill, Josh King, Jason Steele and Jobe Bellingham, who joins his brother Jude in the senior squad for the first time.
Cole Palmer and Phil Foden have both been left out.
Croatia midfielder Ivan Perisic is suspended while Slaven Bilic also has plenty of injury headaches with Josip Sutalo, Martin Pongracic, Andrej Kramaric, Franjo Ivanovic and Kristijan Jakic all withdrawing.
England: Trafford; White, Quansah, Hill, Hall; Rice, Anderson, Bellingham, Ngumoha, Gordon; Kane
Croatia: Livakovic; Stanisic, Vuskovic, Caleta-Car, Gvardiol; Modric, Kovacic; Vlasic, Mario Pasalic, Baturina; Budimir
England v Croatia kicks off at 7:45pm GMT on Thursday, November 12 at Wembley Stadium.
The match is live on ITV1 in the UK and can be streamed on ITVX. In the US, it’s on FOX Sports at 2:45pm ET.
England were far too strong for Croatia in the return game, arguably producing their best performance under Tuchel. Anything similar to that will be too much for the visitors.
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