England Thrash Croatia 7-0 for Record Nations League Win in Rijeka
England produced one of the most dominant performances of recent years in beating Croatia 7-0 in Rijeka, a record victory for the country in the Nations League and the heaviest defeat Croatia have suffered.
Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka both scored twice, with Anthony Gordon, Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers adding the others. Bellingham also supplied three assists.
Ruthless From the Start
The match was effectively over by half-time. England were relentless in the opening 45 minutes, with Saka joining in before the interval to cap a period in which Croatia could not get near them.
Thomas Tuchel made five changes from the side that beat Czechia in Prague, handing a first start to Alex Scott, who had made his senior debut in that 2-0 win.
Kane's double took his England record to 89 goals. He then added two more against Czechia at Wembley on Tuesday as England won 3-0, a result that leaves them well placed in Group A3.
The occasion was unusual. The game was played behind closed doors as a punishment for crowd disturbances at a previous Croatia fixture, with crowd access limited.
A Rivalry That Has Shifted
England and Croatia have met repeatedly over the past eight years, often with something significant at stake. Slaven Bilic's current side bears little resemblance to the team that reached the 2018 World Cup final and the semi-finals four years later.
It was the 12th meeting between the countries. England now have eight wins from those, having also beaten Croatia 4-2 in the group stage of this summer's World Cup.
The result followed a difficult opening to the campaign. England lost 3-2 at home to world champions Spain in September despite leading 2-1 through Gordon and Kane, with Alex Baena and Mikel Oyarzabal turning the game around.
Spain Still Setting the Pace
Spain remain top of the group with a perfect record. They beat Czechia 3-1 in Oviedo on the same evening, Lamine Yamal opening the scoring before Rodri and substitute Mikel Merino settled it after Jiri Slama had pulled one back.
That was Spain's 41st consecutive match without defeat and a tenth successive win. They followed it by beating Croatia 2-1 on Tuesday.
"They are well drilled, I thought it would be one of the hardest games and that's how it was," Rodri said after the Czechia match.
Spain have nine points from their first three group games, with England on six at that stage before the Czechia win.
Elsewhere in the window, Jurgen Klopp’s Germany endured a goalless draw in Greece, while the Netherlands beat Serbia 2-1, Portugal saw off Norway 2-1 and Denmark won 1-0 in Wales. Scotland won 2-0 in North Macedonia.
The league phase continues in November, with the top two from each League A group advancing to quarter-finals in March.
