England delivered a merciless 7-0 thrashing of Croatia in their Nations League fixture on Saturday, a result that left Croatia captain Luka Modric feeling "ashamed" and England manager Thomas Tuchel praising his team's dominance. The match, played behind closed doors with only 6,403 fans present, was watched almost entirely by local children admitted for free.
Modric's shame after catastrophic night
"It is difficult to find an explanation for such a performance without duels, fouls, aggressiveness, togetherness," said Modric. "I've been here for 20 years, but for the first time I feel ashamed after a game. You can't play football like that; we looked like we had four or five players less. Losing like this and squandering the reputation we've built over the years is unacceptable. It was a catastrophic night."
While Croatia struggled across every department, England excelled in all areas, dismantling a team that had previously caused them significant pain. The victory, delivered in front of a young audience, was described as an exceptionally surreal day.
Tuchel's verdict and Scott injury blow
Tuchel alluded to a certain semi-final in Atlanta after the win, saying: "To win this dominant performance is the way to move on. We'll always have a scar, feel pain, but this is the way to move forward."
The victory was tempered by news that midfielder Alex Scott aggravated a thigh injury picked up before the game. Scott has left the England squad and is expected to be sidelined for two months. "I'm very sad about it," said Tuchel. "He trained in full before Croatia, did extra work after the training sessions, we knew he was in treatment but there were only green lights from him and the medics. Even before the scan he didn't feel [knacked] so it's a strange one. There was zero risk taken from our side."
The match also saw Croatia's young fans endure a harrowing afternoon, their reward for the previous misbehaviour of senior supporters turning into one of the more difficult days of their young lives.
