England demolish Croatia 7-0 in ruthless Nations League outing
England produced their most convincing performance under Thomas Tuchel as they swept aside Croatia 7-0 in a stunning Nations League display in Rijeka.
The Three Lions bounced back from their opening defeat to Spain at Wembley, following it with a victory over the Czech Republic before producing a completely different level of performance against Croatia.
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England took control from the opening minutes and repeatedly exposed Croatia’s defensive weaknesses to secure a comfortable win.
Kane and Bellingham lead England charge
Harry Kane opened the scoring after just eight minutes, capitalising on a mistake from Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol.
The England captain collected Jude Bellingham’s pass before firing a powerful finish beyond goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
Bellingham then doubled the advantage in the 21st minute, finishing from close range after Anthony Gordon controlled Bukayo Saka’s cross at the far post and set up the chance.
Gordon soon added a third, heading home from Jarell Quansah’s precise cross to continue his remarkable scoring run for England.
The winger has now scored in four consecutive international appearances.
England were four goals ahead before half-time, with Saka converting from Bellingham’s delivery shortly before the interval.
England refuse to slow down after break
Tuchel’s side showed no sign of easing off after the restart, with Kane grabbing his second goal eight minutes into the second half.
The striker slid in at the far post to turn Elliot Anderson’s cross into the net and further punish a Croatia side struggling to contain England’s attack.
Croatia’s defensive problems continued to gift England opportunities, with Saka taking advantage of another error to score his second and make it 6-0.
Substitute Morgan Rogers then completed the rout after rounding Livakovic to give England an even more ruthless victory.
The match was officially played behind closed doors as part of a sanction against Croatia supporters, although around 6,000 schoolchildren and 100 visiting fans were permitted to attend.