England play their penultimate fixture of what has been a topsy-turvy 2026 when they welcome Croatia to Wembley on Thursday night.
The Nations League affair sees Thomas Tuchel’s side face the Croats for the third time in the space of five months, having followed up their World Cup group stage 4-2 win in the summer with a thumping 7-0 success in the Nations League in early October.
As ever, a big crowd is anticipated at Wembley as the Three Lions aim to qualify for the quarter-finals next year.
To do that, they need just a solitary point from their remaining matches: Croatia at home and then Spain away on Sunday. The eight teams to finish in the top two of the four League A groups will play in the knockout rounds in March 2027.
Tuchel has a few fresh faces in the group this time around, with the likes of Josh King, James Hill and Jobe Bellingham all hoping to catch the eye in this camp.
But all eyes will be on a familiar face on Thursday, with captain and Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane set for a special evening. Kane will move top of England’s all-time appearance-maker as he celebrates his 126th cap for his country.
Speaking of his pride at the upcoming achievements, Kane refused to put a limit on what number he could eventually finish on when he ultimately calls it a day.
“I don’t like to put limits on anything,” said the 33-year-old.
“We spoke in the last camp about the 100 goals for England, I think that’s another incredible milestone to try and reach as soon as possible.
“Regarding caps, I just like to take these things as they come. We’ve done extremely well in tournaments, reaching the latter stages so caps are there to be had. We’ll just have to see. Right now, I’m feeling really, really good so hopefully many more years to see what else I can achieve.”
The pre-match press conference was, understandably, largely centred around Kane and his achievements. And one question that was asked of manager Tuchel was whether his captain can be considered England’s greatest player.
He replied: “I don’t know, but he is up there of course. It’s now proven and it’s always nice if things are proven.
“He has his collection of prizes, he will score more goals, he will get more games and tomorrow he will start as captain of course.
“It’s a big occasion to present the Ballon d’Or to our fans and bring it to the country and have it on the same day when he gets his all-time record for 126 matches. It’s a beautiful, beautiful occasion.
“On top of that it’s a match that matters, it is not a friendly, it is a Nations League match. It is something Harry has to digest it as quickly as possible. There will be a lot of praise, a lot of emotions before kick-off and we need him in the best shape to win the match for us.”
Croatia’s veteran Luka Modric is likely to feature for Slaven Bilic’s side in what could well be his last appearance in England. The Milan midfielder recently turned 41.
