Wembley gave Harry Kane the stage, and England’s captain turned it into a record-setting evening. The Bayern Munich forward matched Peter Shilton’s mark of 125 appearances for the national team and scored twice in a 3-0 Nations League win over the Czech Republic, taking his own England scoring record to 91 goals.
A captain’s Wembley landmark
Thomas Tuchel’s side controlled the occasion from the opening minutes, even if the Czech team, coached by Santi Denia, had spells of possession after England’s first surge. The visitors remained vulnerable whenever England accelerated, and the breakthrough arrived through an unexpected error.
- In the sixth minute, Czech goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek pushed away a trademark free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold.
- Vladimir Coufal then turned Kane’s delivery towards Eberechi Eze into his own net at the far post, with little pressure on him.
- Kane made it 2-0 five minutes before half-time, arriving to finish Morgan Rogers’ low pass from close range.
- The England captain struck the crossbar from outside the area after the interval before heading in Lewis Hall’s corner in the 57th minute.
The final goal came with Kane directing a downward header inside the post, ending a contest the Czech Republic were increasingly unable to revive. He was applauded by the Wembley crowd when substituted near the end, completing a night in which the captain had overtaken another milestone as England’s most prolific player.
Tuchel refreshes his attacking line
Tuchel made four alterations to the team that had beaten Croatia 7-0 on Saturday. The most noticeable changes came in attack, where Anthony Gordon of Barcelona and Bukayo Saka were rested, allowing Rogers and Eze to begin.
Jude Bellingham, the Real Madrid midfielder, retained his place alongside Kane. Both players have started all four matches during this international window.
England close on the knockout rounds
The result continues England’s recovery in Nations League Group A3. Their campaign began with a 3-2 defeat to Spain, but they have since collected nine points from three matches against the Czech Republic and Croatia.
- England previously won 2-0 in Prague against the Czech Republic.
- The victory at Wembley completed a 7-0 aggregate advantage over the Czechs in the two meetings.
- England sit six points clear of Croatia.
- With the return match against the Croatians still to come in November, Tuchel’s team are effectively on course for the quarter-finals.
For Kane, at 33, the wider campaign could wait for another night. At Wembley, the captain shared Shilton’s appearance record and added two more goals to a total no England forward has previously reached.
