England thrashed Croatia 7-0 in the Nations League on Saturday evening, following a stunning first-half display that followed Thomas Tuchel's bold selection choices. The match at the Rijeka Stadium was meant to be played behind closed doors as a UEFA punishment for crowd disturbances, including alleged Nazi gestures and the setting off of fireworks, during Croatia's Nations League quarter-final encounter with France in March 2025.
Due to a loophole, 6,000 schoolchildren, accompanied by adults, were allowed to attend, creating an odd atmosphere with a chorus of high-pitched, screaming voices. It did not unsettle the visitors, who followed up a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic on Tuesday by taking Croatia to pieces in the first half.
First-half masterclass
ITV pundit Roy Keane said at the interval: "I can't believe what I'm watching," after a dismal defensive display from Slaven Bilic's side allowed England to rack up a 4-0 lead thanks to goals from Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka.
Bilic made three changes at the break in an attempt to inject intensity into his lacklustre side. Within minutes Kane added his second goal and England's fifth, before Saka also recorded a brace to go 6-0 ahead. Late on, Morgan Rogers made it seven.
Tuchel's bold calls
Tuchel had handed opportunities to Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall and Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott on the left flank of a 4-3-3 behind Anthony Gordon, while he also selected Bayer Leverkusen's Jarrell Quansah at right-back. Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa formed the centre-back pairing.
Ahead of the game, Tuchel praised Scott, only the third serving Bournemouth player to appear for England, saying: "He did so well in training and he did so well when he had his debut. He brings the full package. He has legs. He's good in defending, good in the high press, very smooth on the ball. Good decision-making at the moment that's why he has our trust."
Scott rewarded his manager's faith in the eighth minute when he found Bellingham on the edge of the box, before the Real Madrid man slipped in Kane to fire into the net from close range.
Ruthless finishing
Gordon's pace caused constant problems, and he did brilliantly to bring down a Saka cross and pull it back for Bellingham to poke the ball into the net after 21 minutes. Gordon finally got his goal, his fourth in four games, with a diving header meeting a cross from Quansah in the 39th minute.
Just a minute later, Elliot Anderson had his pocket picked on the edge of England's penalty area, and Manchester City's Mateo Kovacic rounded Jordan Pickford but shot wide with the goal at his mercy. On the stroke of half-time, Bellingham set up Saka to score from close range.
In the 53rd minute, Saka and Anderson combined, with Anderson crossing for Kane to slide in and finish. In the 68th minute, a terrible pass from Croatia let in Kane, who selflessly handed a second goal to Saka. Tuchel then brought on Morgan Rogers, Eberechi Eze and James Garner for Scott, Gordon and Kane.
In the 87th minute, Rogers bent his run perfectly to collect a long ball from Bellingham and slot past the stranded keeper. Because of the supposed ban, only 100 England fans were in the stands to witness Croatia's biggest ever defeat. Croatian supporters had taunted them ahead of kick-off with a banner that read: "It's not coming home."
