England thrash Croatia 7-0 in record-breaking Nations League rout

England tore Croatia apart with a ruthless 7-0 victory in Rijeka, condemning the Balkan side to the most lopsided defeat they have ever suffered. Thomas Tuchel's team had the contest wrapped up by half-time with a four-goal cushion, then piled on three more after the break in a display of attacking football that the hosts simply could not handle in front of a crowd made up mostly of schoolchildren.

• England inflicted Croatia's heaviest ever defeat with a 7-0 win in the Nations League.
• Harry Kane opened the scoring after eight minutes and added a second after half-time.
• Bukayo Saka scored just before the break and netted again after a defensive gift from Croatia.
• Bellingham, Gordon, Quansah and Rogers completed a perfect night for Thomas Tuchel's side.
• The match was played in front of a stadium packed with schoolchildren, many of whom left early.

Kane and Bellingham strike early to shatter Croatia's game plan

England needed less than ten minutes to take the lead. A careless mistake from Josko Gvardiol in possession allowed Harry Kane to pounce, and the striker steered the ball home to give the visitors a dream start. The early goal forced Croatia to push forward, playing straight into the hands of an England side brimming with pace on the counter.

Jude Bellingham doubled the advantage around the 20-minute mark, arriving in the box to poke in England's second. The Croatian defence, far from its best, kept gifting the ball away in dangerous areas, and England punished every error with clinical finishing that left the home side chasing shadows for much of the first half.

Gordon and Saka put the game to bed before the interval

Anthony Gordon extended his fine scoring run with a header that made it 3-0, converting a delivery from Jarell Quansah that echoed the kind of assist Trent Alexander-Arnold regularly provides from wide areas. The Barcelona forward was scoring for the fourth time in as many appearances for England.

On the stroke of half-time, Bukayo Saka added a fourth from close range to leave Croatia in tatters. Tuchel's men went into the dressing room with a commanding lead that reflected their complete dominance and set up one of the darkest nights in Croatian football history.

Kane and Saka complete their braces as Croatia crumble

England showed no mercy after the restart. Kane grabbed his second of the night with a poacher's finish inside the box, making it 5-0 and completing a personal double that underlined his importance to this England team. The home crowd, largely made up of schoolchildren, began to sense the humiliation would only get worse.

The sixth goal arrived through another dreadful Croatian defensive error. While trying to play out from the edge of their own box, Croatia gifted possession to Saka, who exchanged passes with Kane before firing past the goalkeeper. The Arsenal man had his second goal and England had a six-goal cushion with half an hour still to play.

Morgan Rogers rounds off the scoring from the bench

With the match already won, Tuchel turned to his bench and introduced Eze, Rogers and Garner, later giving minutes to Lewis-Skelly and Gibbs-White. The depth of England's squad was on full display when Morgan Rogers, fresh off the bench, latched onto a Bellingham flick and rounded the goalkeeper to slot into an empty net for the seventh.

The result gives England a massive goal difference boost in a group where Spain are their main rivals for top spot. If the two sides finish level on points, the overall goal difference could prove decisive, and the seven-goal haul in Rijeka hands Tuchel's team a remarkable cushion heading into the rest of the campaign.

A record-breaking defeat for Croatia against an in-form England

The 7-0 loss stands as the worst result Croatia have ever suffered, surpassing anything the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists had experienced before. The home side never found a way to contain England's relentless attacking waves and paid a heavy price for a string of individual and collective mistakes.

Apart from a long-range effort from Nikola Vlasic that flashed into the side netting late on, Croatia offered little threat to the England goal. The visitors kept a clean sheet despite a few minor defensive lapses, completing a performance that strengthens Tuchel's position and sends a powerful message to the rest of Europe.