England Hit Seven in Rijeka, Croatia's First Home Loss There

England demolished Croatia 7-0 in Rijeka, with Kane and Saka scoring twice each, in Croatia's first-ever home defeat at the stadium.

England overwhelmed Croatia 7-0 in a UEFA Nations League match in Rijeka on Saturday, October 3. Harry Kane opened the scoring after eight minutes, punishing a Josko Gvardiol mistake by finishing Jude Bellingham's pass high past Dominik Livakovic. Bellingham made it two after 21 minutes, Anthony Gordon headed in Jarell Quansah's cross, and Bukayo Saka added a fourth on the stroke of half-time. Kane scored again soon after the break, Saka got his second, and substitute Morgan Rogers rounded off the rout. The result moves England to six points from three games and up to second in League A3.

Rijeka has been a fortress for Croatia, who had never lost there before and had dropped only four of their previous 41 home games, according to the BBC's Phil McNulty. The scoreline also eclipsed England's previous highest score against Croatia, a 5-1 win in World Cup qualifying at Wembley in 2009, as AP reports via AOL. It came against a side that, in Morgan Rogers' words, was playing at World Cup level only a couple of months ago — making the margin the shock of this international break.

Kane and Saka each scored twice, Gordon grabbed his fourth goal in as many games, and Bellingham and Rogers completed the scoring. The BBC notes Bellingham became the first England midfielder with four goal involvements in a match since David Platt against San Marino in 1993, and Saka scored two right-footed goals in one match for the first time in his 378-appearance senior career. Kane's goals extended his England record to 89 international goals, per AP, and made him the first player to score 10-plus England goals in three different calendar years.

The match was effectively played behind closed doors under a stadium ban for fan misconduct against France in March 2025, but a crowd of around 6,000 schoolchildren and 100 travelling England fans filled the small stadium anyway. England midfielder Alex Scott, making his first start, told ITV it was 'pretty surreal' to compete against Luka Modric, one of his favourite players growing up. England's players even lined up for a photo in front of their 100 travelling supporters after one of their great away performances, per the BBC.

England delivered what the BBC's chief football writer Phil McNulty called arguably their most impressive performance under head coach Thomas Tuchel, who praised a 90-minute performance 'at the highest level from everyone.' The display answers criticism that followed Tuchel's timid tactics in the World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina, even though Croatia were shambolic. For Croatia coach Slaven Bilić it is a second humiliation in the break after a 4-1 loss in Spain on Tuesday, leaving his side with 12 goals conceded in three matches, AP reports.