Sports

England Host Croatia at Wembley as Kane Celebrates Milestones

By Al Jazeera Staff

England will host Croatia on Thursday, November 12 at 8:45 pm (19:45 GMT) in Group A3 of the UEFA Nations League at Wembley Stadium, London. Al Jazeera Sport will provide build‑up coverage from 16:45 GMT and a live text commentary stream.

Harry Kane, 33, will start the match with a new Ballon d’Or trophy on his arm. He will also become England’s most‑capped player with his 126th appearance, surpassing former goalkeeper Peter Shilton’s record set in 1990. The Bayern Munich striker is England’s record scorer with 91 goals.

Kane said after a standing ovation at Tottenham Hotspur’s training ground that the trophy and his cap record are among the biggest achievements of his career, highlighting consistency and dedication.

Manager Thomas Tuchel praised Kane as a “perfect captain and a leader by example” and said he has no intention of leaving the England job before the 2028 European Championship.

England only need a draw to reach the quarter‑finals, having won three and lost one of their four games. They sit second with nine points behind Spain’s 12. Croatia, third in the group, are looking for redemption after a 7‑0 defeat to England last month and a 2‑1 loss to Spain.

England will travel to Madrid to face Spain on Sunday, while Croatia will play Czechia at home.

A notable squad story is the potential appearance of Jobe Bellingham alongside his older brother Jude. Jobe received his first senior call‑up after impressive displays for Borussia Dortmund and England’s under‑21 side.

England’s last match against Croatia in Rijeka ended 7‑0, with Kane and Bukayo Saka each scoring twice.

Tuchel said the team wants to win the match to keep a chance of winning in Spain and to overcome the mental challenge of the previous defeat. Bilic said Croatia will play with togetherness and aggression to show that the Rijeka loss was a bad day.

The Opta supercomputer gives England a 67.2 % win probability, Croatia 14.8 % and a draw 18 %.

England’s squad will miss defenders Ezri Konsa and Djed Spence, who are expected to return for the Spain game, and Marc Guehi, who is out with a hip injury. Saka is not in the squad due to a quadriceps injury. Myles Lewis‑Skelly is suspended after two bookings against Czechia.

Predicted England starting XI: Jordan Pickford; Lewis Hall, James Hill, Dan Burn, Ben White; Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson; Anthony Gordon, Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers; Harry Kane.

Croatia will miss veteran winger Ivan Perišić after a red card against Spain. Josip Sutalo, Marin Pongracic, Andrej Kramaric and Franjo Ivanović are also unavailable. Luka Vuskovic and Duje Caleta‑Car are expected to start.

Predicted Croatia starting XI: Dominik Livaković; Josko Gvardiol, Josip Sutalo, Luka Vuskovic, Josip Stančić; Ivan Perišić, Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić; Martin Baturina, Igor Matanić, Ante Budimir.