Harry Kane equalled England's all-time cap record at Wembley and scored twice in a 3-0 win over the Czech Republic. He called it "A big night to equal the record and an extremely proud achievement to reach," and added: "As always, those achievements feel even better when you win the game and for me personally, to score a couple of goals as well, it is a nice night to celebrate now. Good performance, good win and a good way to end the camp."

Kane's record night

Kane's numbers sit nicely with the occasion. He has scored 6 goals in 4 UEFA Nations League appearances for England this season, and he finished the night sounding as pleased with the result as the milestone.

Thomas Tuchel also framed the win as another step in a busy run for England. "It's our fourth match in three or four days. It was a very good performance again and deserved win," he said.

Everton's international minutes

The main Everton angle was the spread of minutes across the squad. Jordan Pickford, Jarrad Branthwaite and James Garner all featured against the Czech Republic, while Harrison Armstrong and Tyrique George came off the bench to play the final half-an-hour at Turner's Cross in Cork.

Tyler Dibling supplied the sharpest individual moment for Everton's group. He scored after just seven minutes against the Rep. Of Ireland for England Under-21s, and Lee Carsley said: "It definitely changed our intensity."

That came after England Under-21s had already qualified for the European Under-21 Championship as Group D winners, which is why the night could be managed a little differently. Carsley said, "Our energy and effort were there, but in the back of our minds the job we’d set out to do we'd achieved."

Pickford, Branthwaite and Garner have all been regular enough for Everton to keep getting club minutes alongside international duty, with each on 5 Premier League appearances this season. Dibling's club figure is still only 1 league appearance, so the early goal for England Under-21s stood out even more.

Everton now go back to club football with several players having banked minutes abroad, and Dibling returning from a goal that came inside seven minutes.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →