Croatia Didn't Lose to England They Couldn't Cope With Them

England didn't simply beat Croatia 7–0 in Rijeka. They overwhelmed them from the first whistle, and the frightening part was how many different ways they found to hurt them.

There are heavy defeats.

And then there are nights when a team looks like it has run out of answers.

Croatia had one of those nights.

England didn't just win 7–0 in Rijeka. They took control of the game, kept control of it, and then kept finding new ways to punish Croatia.

Harry Kane scored twice.

Bukayo Saka scored twice.

Jude Bellingham scored.

Anthony Gordon scored.

Morgan Rogers came off the bench and added another.

But the scoreline isn't even the most interesting part.

The interesting part is how easy England made it look.

Croatia never really recovered

Kane had England ahead after just eight minutes.

Bellingham made it 2–0 after 21 minutes.

Gordon added a third before half-time.

Then Saka made it four.

By the break, the game was effectively over.

Croatia weren't being unlucky.

They weren't losing because of one strange deflection or one individual mistake.

They were being overwhelmed.

England were finding space between the lines, attacking from wide areas and repeatedly getting runners into dangerous positions.

And Croatia couldn't slow any of it down.

Bellingham was at the centre of everything

This was another reminder that Jude Bellingham isn't simply an attacking midfielder who occasionally produces a spectacular moment.

He can control the direction of an attack.

He helped create Kane's opener, scored England's second and then provided another assist for Rogers late in the match.

The official England report credits him with three assists as well as his goal.

That's an extraordinary contribution.

But what impressed me more was the movement around him.

England weren't waiting for Bellingham to magically solve everything.

Kane dropped.

Gordon attacked space.

Saka stretched Croatia.

And Bellingham kept appearing in the spaces Croatia couldn't protect.

That is what makes a front four dangerous.

Not just talent.

Movement.

Kane was more than a goalscorer

Two goals and an assist is already an excellent night.

But Kane's movement caused another problem for Croatia.

He wasn't simply standing between the centre-backs waiting for crosses.

He was dropping deeper, linking play and dragging defenders into uncomfortable positions.

That created room for Bellingham and the wide players.

Croatia therefore had a horrible choice.

Follow Kane and expose the space behind him?

Or leave him alone and allow him to influence the game?

They never found the right answer.

And then there was Saka

Two goals.

Constant threat.

Relentless movement.

Saka's second goal made it 6–0 in the 68th minute, before Rogers completed the demolition late on.

But again, the important thing isn't simply the number beside Saka's name.

England were getting him into situations where he could attack Croatia's defence.

That's the difference between having a dangerous winger and creating the conditions for your dangerous winger to become dangerous.

This wasn't just an attacking performance

This is probably the biggest thing I would take from the match.

England had 64% possession, had 19 shots to Croatia's 12 and recorded 10 shots on target compared with Croatia's one.

So this wasn't a case of England sitting back and scoring seven times on the counter.

They controlled the ball.

They controlled territory.

They pressed.

They created chances.

And they kept Croatia from turning the match into anything resembling a contest.

That is why the performance feels different.

But let's not get carried away

And this is where Matchday Intel needs to be careful.

Croatia were poor.

Very poor.

England deserve enormous credit, but this was also a Croatian team that simply couldn't cope with England's intensity.

So I wouldn't use this one result to declare England unbeatable.

They still have Spain in their Nations League group.

And we already know what happened when these two teams met at Wembley.

Spain won 3–2 after England had taken the lead.

That is the test that interests me.

Can England produce this level of control against Spain?

Can they maintain the same attacking freedom when the opponent is capable of controlling possession themselves?

Can Tuchel's team remain this aggressive against a side that knows how to escape pressure?

That's where we'll learn something more significant.

But tonight belongs to England

For now, there is no need to overcomplicate it.

England were brilliant.

Croatia were overwhelmed.

Seven goals tell part of the story.

The manner of the victory tells the rest.

England didn't wait for Croatia to collapse.

They pushed them there.

And perhaps that is the most encouraging thing for Thomas Tuchel.

After the disappointment of the World Cup and the 3–2 defeat against Spain, England needed a performance that felt convincing from beginning to end.

They got one.

Croatia 0–7 England.

Not just a victory.

A warning.

England are still chasing Spain in this group.

But after tonight, everyone else has another reason to start paying attention.

**The Three Lions aren't just scoring goals.

They're starting to look like a team that knows how to overwhelm an opponent.**

Do you think this was England's best performance under Tuchel so far, or did Croatia simply make it too easy for them?