England delivered a relentless, high-grade performance to beat Croatia 7-0 in a Nations League match played in front of 6,000 children in Rijeka, with Jude Bellingham scoring twice and Harry Kane also netting a brace. The win was overshadowed by an administrative controversy: the match was supposed to be played behind closed doors as punishment for a mass fan march in Paris last March, but the stands were filled with children and their designated handlers.
Controversial crowd decision mars closed-doors match
The ban was imposed after Croatian fans marched to the Stade de France in Paris, with Nazi salutes and a stash of weapons including iron rods, telescopic batons and sharp wooden sticks. In response, the Croatian Football Association allowed 6,000 children plus their handlers to attend, effectively filling the stadium. The decision drew criticism for sending a confusing message about racism and children, with the match sponsor ironically being racism, according to the report.
England's fans were also punished, with only a hundred allowed to make the two-hour drive from Zagreb to Rijeka. The setting was described as a gently crumbling Italianate coastal town, with the stadium lodged in the hills facing the Adriatic, offering views of cargo ships and hills that resembled a pocket-sized Balkan Rio de Janeiro.
England's fluid midfield and clinical finishing
On the pitch, Thomas Tuchel fielded an interesting team with a fluid midfield trident of Alex Scott, Elliot Anderson, and Bellingham. England took the lead after seven minutes through a Harry Kane goal, following a drive from Scott and a slick pass from Bellingham. Bellingham made it 2-0 on 20 minutes after nimble work from Anthony Gordon, his eighth goal in eight games for England after six in his previous 37.
Anthony Gordon headed in a whipped cross from Jarell Quansah for 3-0 on 38 minutes, and Bellingham ran 80 metres to set up Bukayo Saka for a tap-in just before half-time. After the break, Luka Modric came and went, and Kane scored his second after a cross from Anderson. Saka added another, set up by Kane, to make it 7-0.
Progress from the World Cup but concerns over racism
The performance felt repeatable and like progress from the World Cup, with England looking like a tight, mobile, high-technique modern team. The report noted that Croatian children behaved better than their adult counterparts, but highlighted Croatia's genuine problem with far-right, Nazi-adjacent ultra culture, including references to the Ustase regime. The occasion was saved by the punishment on the pitch and England's gripping performance.
