Mexico 2-3 England result, stats and report

Xabi Alonso has publicly defended Cole Palmer's commitment to England, confirming the Chelsea forward's Nations League withdrawal stemmed from a recurrence of his pubalgia problem, not reluctance to play. The rebuttal follows Thomas Tuchel's pointed criticism and Piers Morgan's 'bottle job' jibe, turning a fitness update into a club-versus-country trust dispute ahead of November's Croatia and Spain fixtures.

Harry Kane equalled Peter Shilton's 36-year-old England caps record and extended his own all-time scoring record with a brace against Czechia, strengthening his claim as England's greatest ever international.

Alex Scott played through thigh pain to star on his full England debut in the 7-0 win over Croatia, but the injury has worsened into a problem that could keep him out for two months, prompting Thomas Tuchel to apologise to Bournemouth manager Marco Rose.

Thomas Tuchel has floated Jude Bellingham as an emergency England centre-forward, a tactical idea that doubles as an admission of how thin his striker options are behind the 33-year-old Harry Kane.

Slaven Bilic returns as Croatia manager 14 years after his first spell, facing England in a behind-closed-doors Nations League match in Rijeka. His charm helped build the foundations for Zlatko Dalic's golden generation, but succeeding the most successful coach in Croatian history will take more than nostalgia.

A day after Manchester City were found guilty of breaching the majority of their 115 Premier League charges, three uncharacteristic errors from City-linked players cost England victory over Spain at Wembley. Tuchel, Kane and Roy Keane disagree on whether the verdict was to blame.

Bukayo Saka says England still carry a 'scar' from their World Cup semi-final collapse to Argentina, with Harry Kane independently telling ESPN it was the squad's most painful near miss. The confession lands just before England face world champions Spain at Wembley in their first Nations League test since the tournament.

Cole Palmer is withdrawing from England's Nations League squad with a minor injury, days after Thomas Tuchel recalled him with a public 'prove it' challenge. The setback reopens questions about both Palmer's recurring fitness issues and Tuchel's selection judgement ahead of games against Spain and Croatia.