England captain Harry Kane will match a long held appearance record tonight as he takes on Czechia.

The Three Lions take on the Czech Republic in Tuesday’s UEFA Nations League showdown as they chase down top of the table Spain, who lead the group by three points.

Ahead of the clash, legendary goalkeeper Peter Shilton is England’s highest-capped player with 125 caps, after spending time between the sticks from 1970 to 1990.

Currently, Kane sits on 124 and will match the record if he makes an appearance against Czechia on Tuesday night as the Bayern Munich striker hopes to make history.

Kane could beat the record when England face Croatia and Spain next month, proving Kane can stay fit and ready for manager Thomas Tuchel.

The Ballon d’Or favourite bagged twice in the 7-0 win over Croatia in England’s last clash and he will be hoping to grab his 90th goal for his country later tonight.

England are also now on the verge of winning three straight games with clean sheets for the first time in the current calendar year, having not achieved that feat since their World Cup Qualifying campaign in late 2025.

Coach Eric Chelle says Nigeria are determined to return to winning ways when they face Russia in Tuesday’s friendly at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium.

The Super Eagles head into the encounter seeking a response following their disappointing 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Chelle will be without several regular players, including injured captain Wilfred Ndidi and Victory Akpe, while others were not released by their clubs.

Moses Usor was called up but instructed by LASK not to travel, while Suleiman Mubarak missed the trip due to residence permit issues.

Regardless, the Franco-Malian insists his players are highly motivated and ready to deliver a strong performance against the Europeans.

“Some clubs don’t want the players to come, so we have to manage the situation. We lost our last game, and the expectation for this game is to give the new players the opportunity to show what they can do,” Chelle told media.

“We are motivated. The players want to win, and they want to give their best for the jersey and the country.

“This is not the same team. We lost the game against Guinea-Bissau because our intensity was not good. It’s going to be a different game.”

Carlos Alcaraz qualified for the semi-finals of the Japan Open on Sunday after an ailing Denis Shapovalov retired to hand the world number three a 7-6 (7/3), 2-1 victory.

His Canadian opponent was forced to withdraw after suffering an injury to his upper right thigh in the first game of the second set.

Defending champion Alcaraz will play fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar for a place in the final after the world number 64 ended the impressive run of 86th-ranked Kyrian Jacquet of France.

The match was hard-fought until Shapovalov’s retirement, with Alcaraz troubled by the variety of his game as the world number 46 mixed deep shots with drop shots, and power with spin.


Alcaraz, who saved four set points against Matteo Arnaldi on Saturday, salvaged another here at 5-4 down and went on to seal the tie-break with a passing shot before Shapovalov’s injury.

The Australian Open champion is playing only his third event since returning from a months-long wrist injury, having reached the quarter-finals of the US Open last month.

Later on Sunday, Valentin Vacherot upset France’s Arthur Fils 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 to set up a semi-final against either Jiri Lehecka or Adolfo Vallejo.

Fils seemed to be making short work of the big-serving world number 18 when he earned two set points at 5-3.

But he then caved in, losing the next four games to hand Vacherot the opener on a superb down-the-line return.

Fils forced a deciding set after an intense battle, pumping his fist and rallying the crowd, but eventually succumbed in a tight two-hour, 20-minute match.