Harry Kane celebrated a men’s record 126th appearance for England with a goal as they brushed aside Croatia in the Uefa Nations League according to BBC Sport.
The Bayern Munich striker led the team out in front of huge tifo display celebrating the landmark, before he lifted the Ballon d’Or trophy which he won recently to crown him the world’s best player.
Kane, 33, received accolades from Prince William and ex-goalkeeper Peter Shilton – whose record he broke.
“Breaking the record is a massive thing in the history of our game, seeing the tifo there, having my kids with me, and being presented by all the people was beyond dreams, so of course you have got to take it in,” he said.
“It’s an important milestone in England’s history but once the whistle goes, the most important thing is the match and trying to win.”
But it was a slow start from Thomas Tuchel’s side at Wembley and it wasn’t until the 24th minute they found the breakthrough.
Kane was involved as he dropped deep and played a chipped pass to Jude Bellingham who cut the ball back for Morgan Rogers to bundle in from close range.
Croatia grabbed an unlikely equaliser in the 59th minute after an error from centre-back Jarell Quansah, who tried to head the ball back to keeper Jordan Pickford following a corner, but left it short and Petar Sucic nipped in to poke the ball into the net.
But Quansah redeemed himself five minutes later as the defender won a penalty after he was adjudged to have been held and pulled by Ivan Smolcic at an England corner.
After a video assistant referee (VAR) check, Kane confidently put the ball down the middle for his 92nd England goal, with 27 of them spot-kicks.
Substitute James Garner thought he added a third late on but Bellingham was adjudged to have been offside before he teed up the Everton midfielder for a low drive past Dominik Livakovic.
Victory secured England’s place in the quarter-finals of the Nations League, which take place next year. They will face Group 3 leaders Spain – who beat the Czech Republic 2-0 – on Sunday knowing a win over the world champions will put them top of the standings.
England analysis: Kane’s historic night
The match with Croatia was always going to be about England’s record-breaking captain Kane.
Boss Tuchel had warned in the build-up that supporters should not expect the same performance which saw the Three Lions put seven past Croatia in the last international break and he was right as his side underwhelmed
But the result was not the main focus on Thursday night as Ballon d’Or winner Kane got the acclaim he deserved as he continued to stake his claim as his country’s greatest ever player.
Even in a performance where England were not at their best, Kane often dropped into midfield – something which has become such a crucial part of his game and highlighted an outrageous range of passing.
Kane spoke earlier in the week about how he has targeted reaching 100 goals as quickly as possible and his penalty put him within eight of another astonishing achievement – and 39 clear of any other England player.
He will be 35 by the time the European Championship comes around in 2028, but his quality and prowess in front of goal shows no sign of diminishing, giving England a shot of ending that long wait for a major trophy.