England reaches Nations League finals with Croatia win

LONDON: Harry Kane fired England into the Nations League semi-finals as Gareth Southgate's side scored twice in the last 12 minutes to seal a dramatic 2-1 victory over Croatia on Sunday.

England were on the brink of relegation to the second tier of the competition after Andrej Kramaric gave Croatia the lead against the run of play in the second half at Wembley.

But Southgate's vibrant young side pulled off a stirring escape act in the closing stages to gain a measure of revenge for their World Cup semi-final defeat against Croatia earlier this year.

Jesse Lingard came off the bench to poach England's equaliser and captain Kane was on hand to turn in the winner with five minutes left.

England's fightback took them to the top of Group A4, above Spain and relegated Croatia, and they can look forward to playing in the last four in June next year.

It was a cathartic moment for England, who have made a habit of suffering painful defeats against Croatia, with this year's World Cup woe following the 2007 loss that cost them a place at Euro 2008.

More importantly, the performance provided further tangible proof that Southgate is building a team capable of challenging for the major prizes after years of under-achievement.

England's appearance in the semi-finals of the Nations League, which are set to be held in Portugal next June, offers another chance to reach their first major final since 1966.

Following the 3-2 Nations League win over Spain in Seville last month, this tournament has been a serious statement of intent from Southgate's team and they will go into 2019 with great expectations.

From start to finish, England were the dominant force, although they were fortunate to escape when Ante Rebic shot over after Jordan Pickford fumbled Fabian Delph's backpass.

Kane slipped a perfectly-weighted pass through to Raheem Sterling and the Manchester City winger's blistering pace sent him clear of the Croatia defence. With only Lovre Kalinic to beat, Sterling let Croatia off the hook as he directed a hesitant shot straight at the keeper.