It was a fourth straight win for Thomas Tuchel's side, who head to Madrid on Sunday knowing that victory over world champions Spain will put them top of Group A3. Croatia have lost four games in a row for the first time in their history and must now protect their League A status at home to Czechia.
England controlled the game without ever running away with it. The hosts had 54% of the ball, 15 shots to 13 and 2.81 expected goals (xG) to 1.22, although 0.79 of that came from the penalty. Croatia had more shots on target, five to four, and all of their best moments came in the second half.
England's tactical setup
Tuchel made three changes from the win over Czechia, with Declan Rice, Dan Burn and Anthony Gordon returning, and lined up in a 4-2-3-1. With Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa injured, Jarell Quansah partnered Burn at centre-back between Trent Alexander-Arnold and Lewis Hall. Rice and Elliot Anderson sat in midfield behind Rogers, Jude Bellingham and Gordon, with Kane leading the line.
England's front six had the freedom to swap positions in the final third rather than hold fixed roles, and the plan was to clip balls over Croatia's defence for runners to attack. England found a team-mate with 16 of their 20 long balls in the first half, and Kane was often the one playing them. In the 11th minute, he sent a diagonal switch from deep in his own half to Hall on the left. In the 24th minute, he dropped in again and chipped a pass to Bellingham at the back post. Bellingham helped it across the six-yard box, Josko Gvardiol failed to clear, and Rogers bundled his finish past Dominik Livakovic.
Alexander-Arnold had licence to push on from right-back. He defended as a full-back, but in possession he was a regular source of England's attacks down the right, clipping a cross to the far post for Rogers in the 20th minute and shooting from the edge of the box in the 18th and 40th. England's attacks were split almost evenly between the two flanks, with Hall and Gordon combining on the left in the 29th minute and again for Gordon's shot in the 55th.
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Rogers was the game's standout player. As well as the goal, he set up shots for Anderson in the 16th minute and Bellingham in the 35th and 55th, reached the byline for a cut-back that Croatia blocked shortly before the opener, and in the 51st minute slipped Rice through for a cut-back that Kane looked certain to tap in, only for Josip Stanisic to block. It was his first competitive Wembley goal for England, and his second in as many games against Croatia.
Burn's 6ft 7in frame gave England another weapon. He had headers from set-pieces in the 27th, 30th and 89th minutes and helped the hosts win 60% of the aerial duels, although England's set-pieces, penalty aside, were worth only 0.20 xG.
Croatia's tactical setup
Slaven Bilic, back at Wembley for the first time since his side's famous 3-2 win in 2007, made four changes after the defeat to Spain. Ivan Smolcic, Josip Misic, Petar Sucic and Martin Baturina came in, while Luka Modric dropped to the bench. On paper it was a 4-2-3-1, with Livakovic behind Smolcic, Luka Vuskovic, Stanisic and Gvardiol, Misic and Mateo Kovacic in midfield, and Nikola Vlasic, Sucic and Baturina behind Igor Matanovic.
Croatia started brightly. They pressed high, looked to play through England's press, forced two corners inside the first five minutes and had Kovacic shoot over in the opening minute. Once Rogers scored, though, they sat much deeper, often defending with a back five and a holding midfielder in front of it. They made 15 tackles in the first half to England's six.
The cost was an attack that offered almost nothing before the break. Croatia had 0.21 xG at half-time, and three of their five shots came from outside the box, including efforts from Kovacic in the 33rd minute and Baturina in the 42nd that went straight at Jordan Pickford. None of their nine first-half crosses found a team-mate, and they had only six touches in the England box, compared with 16 for the hosts.
When Croatia did go forward, they went down their left. 42% of their attacks came down that side, where Gvardiol pushed on against Alexander-Arnold, as in the 22nd minute when his run set up a long-range effort for Misic. That was the flank England used most in attack too, which made Alexander-Arnold's side of the pitch the busiest at both ends.
The tactical chess match
Croatia could not hurt England from open play. Their open-play xG for the whole match was just 0.34. Set-pieces were a different story, worth 0.87, and both of the game's key moments came from corners.
Croatia's equaliser in the 59th minute came after England conceded two corners in quick succession, the first by Hall and the second by Gordon. Gvardiol knocked the delivery down, Quansah tried to head the ball back to Pickford from six yards out, and Sucic hooked it into the roof of the net. It was the first goal England had conceded since Spain's winner on matchday one.
England's response came from a corner too. Quansah went forward and was dragged to the ground by Smolcic, and after a VAR review, referee Morten Krogh pointed to the spot and booked the Croatia right-back. With Livakovic diving to his left, Kane put the ball down the middle in the 64th minute for his 92nd international goal.
The goal did not settle the game. England had 19 touches in the Croatia box after the break, but Croatia had 17, compared with six in the first half, and all eight of their second-half shots came from inside the box. Their xG after the interval was 1.01, more than England's 0.94 once the penalty is removed.
In-game adjustments
Bilic moved first. In the 70th minute, Ante Budimir replaced Matanovic up front and Mario Pasalic came on for Sucic. Six minutes later, he made a more attacking change, taking off the booked Smolcic for Marco Pasalic, while Modric, 41, replaced Misic and took the captain's armband.
Croatia's late pressure followed. Budimir forced Pickford into a save with a header in the 76th minute, Modric slipped in Vlasic, who got away from Burn and dragged a shot just wide in the 82nd, and Quansah had to make a sliding block to stop Budimir in the 88th. In stoppage time, Vuskovic and Budimir both missed the target with headers from corners, Croatia's best chances to snatch a point.
Tuchel's changes came with Sunday in mind. In the 78th minute, James Garner, Ben White and Rio Ngumoha replaced Rice, Alexander-Arnold and Gordon, like-for-like swaps that rested three starters before the trip to Spain. Garner thought he had made it 3-1 in the 86th minute from Bellingham's cut-back, but Bellingham had been offside. Croatia's last change came in the 90th minute, when Lovro Majer replaced Kovacic.
Conclusion
England's opener showed exactly what Tuchel wanted, with Kane dropping deep, Bellingham arriving at the back post and Rogers finishing the move. But Croatia's back five kept the game tight, and once a set-piece error let them back in, the visitors were the more dangerous side in the closing stages. Kane's penalty settled a historic night, but the corners England conceded and the chances Croatia created late will give Tuchel plenty to think about before Spain.