England beat Croatia 2-1 at Wembley on Thursday night to reach the Nations League quarter-finals, and the scoreline flatters them. Harry Kane’s penalty on 64 minutes won it on the night he became England’s most-capped men’s player, but the defence let in a soft goal and the team looked flat for long spells. That is the problem Thomas Tuchel has to fix before Sunday’s trip to Spain.

If you missed the build-up, our Kane most-capped piece, the England vs Croatia predicted lineup and the Nations League rules explainer cover the ground.

How the game turned

Morgan Rogers put England ahead on 24 minutes, from a Jude Bellingham assist, his third senior England goal. England led 1-0 at half-time.

The equaliser on 59 minutes was self-inflicted. A mistake from Jarell Quansah left Jordan Pickford exposed and Croatia’s Sučić scored. BBC Sport’s player ratings gave Quansah a 5, calling it a “dreadful mistake” in an otherwise comfortable game, while Pickford, “as reliable as ever prior to that”, also got a 6.

Five minutes later England had a penalty and Kane scored it. Croatia then crept back into the match. Nikola Vlasic dragged a shot wide on 81 minutes, another effort went narrowly wide, and in stoppage time Ante Budimir missed the target with a free header from a corner. At the other end, James Garner celebrated what he thought was his first England goal on 87 minutes, but Bellingham was offside when he laid it back.

Kane and the record

Kane made his 126th England appearance, passing Peter Shilton’s 125 caps, and scored his 92nd goal for his country. Before kick-off he was presented with a framed shirt by Shilton and Prince William. Tuchel had called it “a deserved occasion to celebrate an extraordinary player” when he named the squad.

There was also an awkward moment late on. Ben White, on as a substitute on 78 minutes, was booed by a section of the crowd. He said earlier in the week that people do not know the “full story” behind his decision to make himself unavailable for England selection, and that he would make the same decision again.

What the pundits made of it

The former England goalkeepers on BBC Radio 5 Live were not impressed. Rob Green said: “It’s been job done for England. Well done? Not so much.” Paul Robinson said Tuchel would take the three points, but that “Croatia came here to thwart England and spoil”.

Some of the individual displays were better than the team’s. Lewis Hall got the highest rating of the night, a 7, and Dan Burn started despite missing the original squad and was largely reliable. Declan Rice returned from injury and was rated 6, the same mark as most of the side.

The group table before Spain

Group A3 after Thursday’s games, per BBC Sport. Spain beat the Czech Republic 2-0 the same night.

Spain on Sunday

England’s only defeat in the group came against Spain, 3-2 at Wembley on 26 September, and the return is in Spain on Sunday 15 November at 7.45pm UK time. Spain have won all five of their games. England are through whatever happens, so the game is about first place and about whether this back line can cope with the world champions.

Green was blunt about it: “We have got to go at it in a completely different manner to tonight.” On Thursday’s evidence, we agree. Kane said afterwards that England will need to improve to win in Spain.