England beat Croatia to qualify for Nations League finals

Harry Kane winner gives England battling win over Croatia

England fought back to qualify for the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League as Harry Kane and Jesse Lingard scored late goals in a pulsating 2-1 victory over Croatia, who were relegated from Group A4 after defeat at Wembley on Sunday.

England were themselves facing the drop when Croatia’s Andrej Kramaric scored after 57 minutes but substitute Lingard and Kane scored in the 77th and 85th minutes at a vociferous Wembley to turn the group on its head.

Gareth Southgate’s side had dominated for large periods but fell behind when Kramaric twisted and turned before firing in via a deflection off Eric Dier.

Goals from Lingard and Kane, however, ensured England finished top of a group where all three teams — including Spain who started the day top but finished second — could have qualified.

England, who progress to the finals in Portugal in June, finished with seven points, one ahead of Spain and three clear of Croatia, who were relegated to the second tier.