Kane's record-equalling brace seals England's 3-0 Nations League win over Czechia

Harry Kane marked his record-equalling 125th England cap with a brace as England defeated Czechia 3-0 at Wembley on Tuesday, drawing level with Peter Shilton’s all-time appearance record for the men’s national side. Kane also forced an own goal from Vladimir Coufal before being withdrawn to a standing ovation late in the match.

Thomas Tuchel was effusive in his praise for the skipper afterwards. “Brilliant, brilliant,” the England head coach said. “He was again decisive for us and on this very special day for him, to equal the record of Peter Shilton, puts him on this kind of level. Amazing. He deserves the stage, he deserves the praise.”

The result all but secured England’s place in the Nations League quarter-finals. It followed a 7-0 thrashing of Croatia in Rijeka on Saturday and a 2-0 victory in Prague last week — results that helped the side recover from a 3-2 opening defeat to Spain in Group A3. Kane is expected to move clear of Shilton’s record next month when England face Croatia.

Tuchel acknowledged that the squad has made tangible progress since the summer’s World Cup, pointing to improvements in structure and collective understanding built over an extended camp. “We adjusted some details in our structure, and we didn’t compromise on the effort and the intensity and on the togetherness of the team,” he said.

“The players who were with us in the World Cup took care of these standards and of the culture within the team, off the pitch and on the pitch. The common language sinks in, the patterns sink in.”

The head coach credited the length of the international window for allowing his squad to embed new ideas, noting that additional time for training and debriefs had helped generate momentum across the camp.