RIJEKA, Croatia — England have been in search of a result and performance that would help point Thomas Tuchel’s tenure towards Euro 2028 and not back at what might have been during the World Cup.
On Saturday, in Stadion HNK Rijeka overlooking the Adriatic Sea, they found it. Of course, nothing will truly erase the pain of that semifinal defeat to Argentina until they find themselves within touching distance of a first trophy since 1996, but a 7-0 hammering of Croatia in the UEFA Nations League is a stunning way to start.
“This is the only way to move forward even if you still feel pain,” Tuchel said afterwards. “You have to play with the pain if you still feel the disappointment, you have to play with it, that is the nature of sport.
“It was not an easy camp in the beginning after this long tournament for multiple reasons. But straight away first training session on Tuesday, the buildup to the Spain game, we had an excellent performance against Spain but not the result [losing 3-2], the reaction to the result in Czechia [winning 2-0] and now the buildup [here].
“The focus in the meetings, the translation of the meetings onto the pitch and to bring it within these circumstances in Croatia, to win with this dominant performance, that is the way to move on.
“I’ve said many times, we will always have a scar, we will always feel pain and disappointment. That is the way it is, but this is the way to move forward. We adjusted some stuff after some things after the World Cup and we played in the same manner in all three matches. We are getting better at it, and the team buys into it, this is the most important.”
Was it England’s best display under Tuchel? “Yeah I think so,” he replied. “It was a complete performance over 90 minutes.”
Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham. Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka all found the net in a devastating opening 45 minutes that ended 4-0 and stands alongside the finest England performances in recent memory.
It wouldn’t be England these days without a defensive error — Elliot Anderson lost the ball on the edge of his own box to Mateo Kovacic, who rounded goalkeeper Jordan Pickford but somehow steered the ball wide with the goal at his mercy. But that was a minor glitch on an otherwise faultless night combining high press, front-foot aggression and dynamic forward play which utterly overwhelmed Croatia.
Mitigation comes in how abject Croatia were. Luka Modric is a modern-day legend of the game but he looked every day of his 41 years here. And the whole occasion had a bizarre feel.
Crowd trouble in Croatia’s Nations League tie with France last March meant UEFA deemed this match was to be played behind closed doors. However, regulations dictate that accompanied children could still attend and around 6,000 from football academies across Croatia alongside schools from the local Rijeka area were allowed in.
Following dialogue between the FA and UEFA, 100 England fans were also admitted leading to an official attendance, quite ridiculously, of 6,342 in a 8,279-capacity arena.
The soundtrack was like a playground at lunchtime. Around a dozen onlookers gathered on the roof of the closest house with around half as many huddled together on a balcony just below. Inside, there was still a dig at their visitors’ recent pain as one group of children unfurled a banner at kick-off which read: “It’s Not Coming Home.”
Yet what started as high jinks probably ended up feeling like detention. They watched their national team on the receiving end of a brutal lesson in high pressing, dynamic attacking and ruthless finishing.
There was no let up after the interval. Another stunning team goal climaxed with Anderson crossing for Kane to finish from close range, taking his international tally to 89 goals from 124 games, to make it 5-0.
Some of England’s football was sublime. Anderson was partnered by Bournemouth’s starting debutant Alex Scott in central midfield — reunited for the first time since England’s Under 21s won the European Championships at that age group last summer — and the pair ran rings around Modric, Kovacic and co.
There was a time when facing Croatia filled England with concern. They lost to them in the 2018 World Cup semifinal as England’s fragility in possession was exposed before Gareth Southgate’s side gained a measure of revenge with a 1-0 win at Euro 2020.
But even this summer, England were pegged back by Croatia twice in an enthralling World Cup group-stage game in Dallas, before a second-half blitz which Tuchel has since referred to as some of the best football they have played.
Saturday’s performance rammed home that superiority to a savage extent; they ended with an expected goals figure of 6.14, with 64% possession.
England’s tormentors of old — Modric, Kovacic and Ivan Perisic among them — are obviously past their prime but this is still the 13th best nation in the world according to FIFA’s rankings. In fact, this was England’s biggest-ever win over a top-50 nation since the ranking began in 1992.
But as a contest, it was men against boys (supported by children). And when Saka added a sixth on 68 minutes following good work from Kane, a few of the youngsters headed for the exits. Perhaps homework was more appealing than this.
Substitute Morgan Rogers made it 7-0 after racing clear and rounding beleaguered goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic to inflict Croatia’s worst defeat in their history. Bellingham’s third assist of the night gave him four goal involvements overall, the first England midfielder to achieve this since David Platt in 1993.
Tuchel has taken a player whose attitude and temperament was questioned and turned him into the talismanic figure his talent always indicated he could be.
“At the moment, it seems like [he’s gone to another level] and you always need to,” Tuchel said. “The level you showed last week is never enough in the next week, that’s just the nature of football. You can never stand still. If you stand still, it is like an on escalator; if you walk against it, you have to walk to even maintain your level. You have to push for the next level otherwise other teams will catch up. That’s why it is always necessary to reach for the next level.”
It also seems farcical now to think there was a debate over Gordon’s role prior to the World Cup. Moving to Barcelona has fueled further self-belief and the winger is among England’s most potent threats in tandem with Saka and, of course, Kane, whose hopes of winning the Ballon d’Or were also boosted here.
Tuchel needed this; the murmurs of discontent originating from England’s World Cup collapse against Argentina have continued in this camp. His omission of full back Trent Alexander-Arnold here after an encouraging performance against Czechia last time out prompted more questions over his wider vision for England, but what followed here was an emphatic riposte.
This was the second time in four games that England have scored six goals. The did so against France in the third-place win at the World Cup and then here, with a Wembley defeat to world champions Spain in between serving as a reminder of the gap to the very top.
Nights like this will make everyone belief again, however, that the gap could soon disappear.
