Tuchel Hails England’s Record-Breaking Win Over Croatia

Tuchel Hails England’s 7–0 Win Over Croatia as a Complete Response

Thomas Tuchel believes England’s emphatic 7–0 victory over Croatia was the ideal response to the disappointment of their World Cup campaign.

Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka put England four goals ahead before half-time. Kane and Saka added to the score after the break, while Morgan Rogers completed a dominant night for the Three Lions.

England Dominate in Rijeka

The match was played in front of 6,329 spectators in Rijeka, with the crowd largely made up of schoolchildren. Croatia were serving a one-match stadium ban imposed by UEFA after crowd trouble during their earlier meeting with France.

Despite the unusual setting, England controlled the game from the opening minutes and rarely allowed Croatia to build any momentum. The result was Croatia’s heaviest defeat in their history and moved England closer to the Nations League quarter-finals.

Tuchel: England Must Play Through the Pain

England had begun the international break with a 3–2 defeat by Spain before recovering with a routine 2–0 win over Czechia. Tuchel said the team’s latest performance showed that the players were learning how to respond to setbacks.

“This is the only way to move forward. Even if you still feel pain, you have to play with it. That is the nature of sport.”

The manager admitted that the camp had not started easily after a long tournament and a difficult result against Spain. However, he praised the players’ focus in training and meetings, as well as their ability to transfer that work onto the pitch.

“To win with this dominant performance is the way to move on. We are getting better at it, and the team is buying into it.”

“A Complete Performance”

Asked if it was England’s best display since he took charge, Tuchel did not hesitate.

“I think so. It was a complete performance over 90 minutes.”

England will finish the international break against Czechia on Tuesday, with Tuchel’s side looking to build on the confidence generated by their biggest win of the campaign.

Report based on comments from England manager Thomas Tuchel.