74 min: … so having said that, Baturina makes good down the right and looks for Budimir with a diagonal. Budimir should burst through a gap down the inside-left, but the ball clunks off his shin and out for a goal kick.
73 min: England play keepball, and the clock ticks on. They're looking comfortable.
71 min: Croatia make the first changes, replacing Sučić and Matanović with Budimir and Pašalić. When the game restarts, Gordon crosses from the left for Kane, who is penalised for getting too aggressive with his climb over Gvardiol.
69 min: England don't deal with a ball bouncing into their box from the left. The ball makes it all the way through to Sučić, in space to the right. Sučić shoots low and hard, towards the bottom right, but Pickford handles well.
68 min: Of course, the closeness of this match means Thomas Tuchel can't get fancy with his substitutions. He wants to see out the win. All of which may disappoint Richard Hirst: "Can't wait to see Josh King make his England debut, either tonight or very soon. He's going to develop into the best England 10 (role, not shirt number, to preempt any pedantry) since Johnny Haynes. What a coincidence that they both come from the same club."
66 min: By the way, Smolčić was booked for his role in giving away that needless penalty. Slaven Bilic will be fuming.
65 min: Well, that was a quickfire exchange of gifts. Can't everyone wait for Christmas?
Kane performs a little shuffle before waiting for the keeper to move and lashing the ball down the middle. That's his 92nd goal for the Three Lions. Ninety-two goals! Wayne Rooney, in second spot, chalked up 52.
63 min: VAR asks the on-field whistler to come over to the screen. Smolčić had a good old grab at Quansah's arm, and only let go of the shirt when the England man was about to fall over. It's got to be given. And it is.
61 min: England respond through Alexander-Arnold, who loops into the Croatia box, forcing Stanišić into deflecting the ball over the bar. From the resulting corner, Quansah, desperate to atone, competes with Smolčić, who has a hold of his shirt. Quansah goes over. He wants a penalty. The on-field referee says no, but VAR will take a look.
Croatia win a corner down the right. The ball's sent into a crowded mixer. It drops to Quansah, who tries to head back to his keeper. Bad idea. The ball drops to Sučić, four yards out. Sučić swivels and hooks into the top left. Pickford had no chance, the nearby Kane stands and fumes. What on earth was Quansah doing?
58 min: Elliot Anderson played for Scotland at U16, U17, U18 and U21 levels. Chalk up another resounding success for the SFA!
56 min: Anderson, surrounded by blue shirts on the right, wriggles free with some outrageous ball-glued-to-toe skill. He spots the keeper miles off his line, so has a go from halfway … only to shank a dreadful effort miles wide and short. Fair play for giving it a go, because had that gone in, the lead-up would have ensured all-timer status.
55 min: Better from Gordon as he sashays in from the left and whip-curls a shot inches wide of the bottom right. A decent effort.
54 min: Rogers crosses low from the right. Gordon nips in to take control, and feels Mišić leaning on his back. He goes over, but doesn't get the penalty he wants. The loose ball rebounds to Bellingham, who scuffs a low drive straight at Livaković. Easy for the keeper.
52 min: … nothing happens. Should Rice have taken the shot himself? He'd have been within his rights. But what do you do when Harry Kane is in your periphery? Defer, is what.
51 min: Rice might not be the most elegant dribbler, but he knows how to time a run into the box. He chases Rogers' ball down the inside-right channel and pulls it back for Kane … who wouldn't have missed from six yards, but Stanišić deflects out for a corner, from which …
49 min: Gordon cuts in from the left and aims a curler towards the top right. Nowhere near.
47 min: Rice has the opportunity to break into acres of space down the right. He races gamely, if ungainly, clanking the ball a couple of times down the wing before an even heavier touch allows Stanišić to come across and take it away. If Rice's run had been set to music, it would have been set to the opening few bars of this …
England get the second half started. No changes, so here's Justin Kavanagh: "Say what you want about Emlyn Hughes, he must have brought a lot to traveling England squads in terms of the bus quizzes."
Half-time entertainment. Today's mid-match distraction runs only on the Commodore 64.
There's not been much to write home about. Like England will care. They're leading, and now just 45 minutes away from officially booking their place in the Nations League quarter-finals.
45 min: There will be the sum total of additional first-half minutes.
44 min: Kovačić wins a corner off Rice down the left. A lot of blue shirts trot into the box. Kovačić takes it himself, and the ball bounces a couple of times in a crowded box before Hall belts it clear. England a wee bit fortunate that somehow evaded all of those aforementioned blue shirts, because that was a bit random.
42 min: Baturina finds a little time on the left for a shot. More easy work for Pickford. Meanwhile in the other Group A3 match, world and European champions Spain have taken the lead in Czechia. Alex Baena with a 39th-minute penalty.
40 min: Some bagatelle on the edge of the Croatia box. The ball breaks back to Alexander-Arnold, who fizzes a rising shot over the bar. Not too far away. That would have been one for the showreel had it hit the net.
39 min: More patient nonsense. "If Emlyn Hughes played in 'all' those years, that surely means from 1960 to 1989, he said, pedantically," says Richard Hirst, pedantically. "That's a longer international career than even Modric." Pedants read the Guardian? Some breaking news, right there.
37 min: England play some patient stuff in the middle of the park. Thomas Tuchel will be happier to watch this state of affairs than the controller of ITV1.
35 min: A Croatia free kick out on the left. It's floated towards Baturina, but Anderson is there to clear. Pickford hasn't had a serious save to make yet. England counter, Rogers finding Bellingham in the box with a sliderule down the right. Bellingham spins and shoots first time, but there's no power in this shot either, and Croatia clear their lines.
33 min: Kovačić looks for the top right from 25 yards. No real power, not enough curl. Easy for Pickford. Meanwhile here's some much-needed good news for those interested in preserving the legacy of poor old Crazy Horse: "On the plus side," begins Philip Cornwall, "Emlyn Hughes was the only man to play football for England in all of the 60s, 70s and 80s."
31 min: Some Newcastle-flavoured fun as Hall's long-distance drive is deflected out for a corner, from which Burn batters a headers goalwards. It's blocked, and perhaps had the ball gone in, Burn would have been penalised for climbing fairly obviously on the back of Mišić. But play goes on, so we'll never know for sure.