Italy seal dominant win over France, Kane sets England appearance record

MILAN, Nov 12 : Italy produced a dominant performance to beat France 3-1 in the Nations League on Thursday, while Harry Kane celebrated his record 126th cap for England with a match-winning penalty as England beat Croatia 2-1 to qualify for the last eight.

Michael Olise gave France the lead in Milan, but a double from Francesco Pio Esposito and one from Davide Frattesi secured a deserved win for the Italians.

Kane, who surpassed Peter Shilton's tally of 125 appearances, stepped up in the 64th minute to put England ahead at Wembley Stadium after the hosts had conceded a sloppy equaliser five minutes earlier.

Italy, France and Belgium will battle it out next Tuesday for two quarter-final spots, with Roberto Mancini's side level at the top of League A Group 1 with France on 10 points.

Plenty of soul-searching followed Italy's failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup but Mancini's side showed they are more than capable of competing with the best. 

Flooding the midfield, Italy's smart and cohesive work proved too much for their opponents.

Michael Olise gave France an early lead after an error from Gianluigi Donnarumma, but excellent work from Nicolo Cambiaghi set up Francesco Pio Esposito for the equaliser in the 26th minute.

Bradley Barcola thudded the post before halftime, but Italy were far more comfortable than Zinedine Zidane's side, who were without Real Madrid duo Kylian Mbappe and Aurelien Tchouameni through injury.

For a second time Cambiaghi flew past Malo Gusto to win a penalty, but Sebastiano Esposito could not convert on the hour mark. Three minutes later Davide Frattesi burst onto a Federico Dimarco cross to give the Italians the lead.

When Antonio Vergara won a second Italy penalty, Pio Esposito made no mistake from