The Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) have responded to Roy Keane after he compared Croatia's performance to one of Gibraltar's during England's 7-0 victory. The nation's official X account took aim at the former Manchester United midfielder while referencing his infamous Saipan incident.
Keane's comparison during ITV coverage
Keane was in the ITV studio alongside Ian Wright as England inflicted Croatia's heaviest ever defeat. Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka each scored twice, with Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers also on the scoresheet as England bounced back from their Nations League defeat to Spain.
While analysing Thomas Tuchel's side, the 55-year-old compared Croatia's showing to one of Gibraltar's. The FIFA-ranked 202nd side have historically suffered heavy defeats but responded sharply to the former midfielder's comments.
Gibraltar's tongue-in-cheek reply
Quote tweeting an ITV Sport clip of Keane drawing the comparison, the Gibraltar FA account tweeted: "Do me a favour, Roy. If you’re going to mention Gibraltar, come visit us first. We’ll even let you stay the whole camp (wink emoji)."
Keane had expected Slaven Bilic's side to pose a firmer test for England, but the World Cup semi-finalists were brushed aside in Rijeka.
Praise for Bellingham
His comments came while lauding Bellingham, saying: "The way he's progressing as a player, there's so much to come. At this moment in time, he's an amazing footballer, the package, the power.
"There's so much to come from him, his leadership skills, his hunger and desire out of possession, he's such a young player, his desire to get into the box, he's making it so easy.
"Before the game, we were thinking (about) Croatia, they made them look like Gibraltar-type of team. Outstanding in every aspect, I think Bellingham can go on to be one of the greatest players of all time.
"Of course, if he avoids injuries but his attitude with England recently, I've praised him a lot but what he's doing out of possession lifts the players in the team, playing for Real Madrid doing brilliant things, that will inspire the players. He's a huge leader for them."
It is uncertain whether Keane will take the GFA up on their offer. Gibraltar sit in Nations League Group D with two points from their opening two matches after draws with Malta and Andorra. They travel to Liechtenstein on Monday before facing Andorra in next month's matches.
