Harry Kane stepped out at Wembley on Tuesday night to equal Peter Shilton's all-time appearance record for England, earning his 125th cap in the Nations League meeting with Czechia. The milestone comes just 11 years after Kane's debut, a stark contrast to Shilton's 21-year international career, underlining the striker's remarkable longevity and consistency at the top level.
Thomas Tuchel made several alterations to the side that thrashed Croatia 7-0 at the weekend. Trent Alexander-Arnold returned to right-back after impressing in Prague last week, while Jarell Quansah shifted into central defence alongside Marc Guehi. Myles Lewis-Skelly came into midfield in place of the injured Alex Scott, and Eberechi Eze was preferred to the in-form Anthony Gordon on the left side of attack, with Morgan Rogers also handed a start alongside Jude Bellingham and Kane up front.
Czechia, managed by Spaniard Santi Denia, lined up with Horníček in goal behind a back line of Coufal, Vitík, Hranáč and Sláma, with Král, Sadílek and Šulc screening the defence, and Ambros, Naderi and Lingr forming the attacking trio.
The fixture rounded off a three-week international break that gave England four matches to open their Nations League campaign in Group A3. The run began with defeat to world champions Spain, before back-to-back wins over Czechia in Prague and a 7-0 demolition of Croatia lifted Tuchel's side into contention near the top of the group. Going into the Czechia rematch, Spain topped the table on nine points, with England second on six, Croatia third on three, and Czechia yet to register a point.
For the visitors, the trip to Wembley represented a fourth straight defeat following losses to Mexico, Croatia and Spain, continuing a difficult run that has seen them win just four of their last 14 matches, with victories limited to lower-ranked opposition such as San Marino, Gibraltar, Kosovo and Guatemala.
Speaking to ITV before kick-off, Kane reflected on what the occasion meant to him.