Two things we learned: England 2-1 Croatia

England produced one of their finest performances in recent times as they came from behind to secure a 2-1 Nations League triumph over Croatia at the Wembley Stadium. The Red Devils had come into the game with the compulsion to win to reach the final stage of the competition and they did not make their path easy after trailing by an Andrej Kramaric goal before the hour mark. However, they managed to make a dramatic comeback during the final 15 minutes of the game with Jesse Lingard and Harry Kane finding the scoresheet.

Two things we learned:

England finally get the better of Croatia: The Three Lions endured one of their major disappointments during the summer where they were ousted by Croatia at the semi-final stage of the World Cup. Thereafter, they only managed to play out a goalless draw in the Nations League on the road and the same trend appeared to continue after they went 1-0 down at the Wembley Stadium. However, this time around the Three Lions benefited from Gareth Southgate’s shrewd substitutions and Jesse Lingard came off the bench to level the scores before Harry Kane put the finishing touches with the goal which ensured the country’s progress into the last four of the newly-formed competition.

Harry Kane ends his goal drought: Kane had gone through a lean patch without scoring since the summer World Cup and he managed to show glimpses of his old international form after grabbing a couple of assists in the surprise 3-2 Nations League win at Spain last month. Against Zlatko Dalic’s side, Kane was barely a threat during the opening 60 minutes of the game but he upped his performance with his country trailing, and played his part in the Lingard equaliser before striking the winner four minutes from time. Kane’s average showing following the World Cup had been attributed to potential stress but he has surely answered his critics after ending a seven-match goal drought with what is unquestionably the most-defining strike of his career.

Image – Getty