Kane’s record-equalling England appearance headlines Nations League night at Wembley

Harry Kane’s 125th appearance for England was the headline event as Thomas Tuchel’s side prepared to face Czechia in the Nations League at Wembley. The Guardian’s live coverage reported that Kane’s start would bring him level with Peter Shilton’s England record. The England captain told ITV that representing his country remained special and that he never took playing at Wembley for granted.

He also said England had come close to winning a trophy on several occasions, but still needed to prove themselves on the biggest stage. England entered the match with the opportunity to move close to securing a place in March’s quarter-finals. The Guardian calculated that a victory over Czechia, combined with an expected Spain win against Croatia, would leave England second on nine points and Croatia third on three.

That position would not formally guarantee England’s progression. However, the report said Croatia would then be able to draw level at best by the end of the group phase in November, with the head-to-head record becoming decisive. On that calculation, Croatia would need to beat England by eight goals at Wembley to overturn the relevant margin.

Tuchel told ITV that England had delivered a “very, very good” performance in their previous match, praising the team’s work with and without the ball. He said the side had improved its movement when Kane dropped deeper, with Jude Bellingham closer to him and Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka prepared to attack space behind the defensive line. The England manager also highlighted the team’s work in getting players into the penalty area.

He said the front four enjoyed playing together and had strong support from behind, while adding that the international break had allowed tactical patterns to be trained, demonstrated and reviewed. Morgan Rogers was selected for the match as England looked to manage the workload of some players. Tuchel said he hoped Rogers could “prove a point”, according to the live report.

The supplied material does not provide a final score or a completed account of the match. The pre-match build-up included a brief interruption when Wembley’s sprinklers turned on ITV presenters Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Mark Pougatch while Wright was discussing Jude Bellingham. The Guardian described Wright’s light-coloured suit as showing damp patches, while Keane was said to have remained unperturbed.

The teams emerged with England in white and Czechia in red, before Czechia took the opening kick-off. The live coverage noted an initially subdued Wembley atmosphere and reported that Trent Alexander-Arnold misplaced an early pass after returning to the side, with Rogers unable to connect with the move. Sky Sports also listed live coverage of Scotland’s Nations League Group B1 match against Slovenia, but supplied no result or further match detail.