SIXTEEEN unbelievable stats and records from England’s historic 7-0 thrashing of Croatia | OneFootball

England ran riot against Croatia on Saturday evening, recording a stunning 7-0 victory and breaking a number of records in the process.

Thomas Tuchel needed this. England were still dealing with the disappointment of how they exited the World Cup and a Nations League defeat to Spain had done little to ease the scrutiny around the manager.

Any concerns were emphatically swept aside as Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka put England four goals ahead before the break.

Kane and Saka struck again in the second half, while Morgan Rogers completed the rout late on as Croatia suffered a bruising defeat.

The likes of 41-year-old Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Ivan Perisic simply couldn’t cope with the energy and intensity of Tuchel’s side, and you now wonder if they might be thinking of finally stepping aside to allow the new generation to break through. This was a humbling.

“They just want to play like this, it’s their belief and wish, their conviction,” Tuchel responded in his post-match press conference, calling it a complete performance.

“We don’t have to convince them. Harry plays a very intense game at Bayern. We still think we have a certain edge if we play on the front foot. If we push as often as possible in man for man it’s what the team likes. We have to manage these risks.”

“Every man was at the highest level,” Kane said.

“They rested a lot of players on Tuesday. I feel they saw this as their best opportunity to get into those top two spots. During the week it was beautiful weather, an amazing hotel, looking out to the ocean. We could have fallen into that holiday mode.”

Here are 16 amazing stats from England’s historic win in Rijeka, with credit to @OptaJoe and EnglandFootball.com for unearthing lots of these.

– This was the heaviest defeat in Croatia’s history. It smashes their previous worst home defeat, also inflicted by England, when Fabio Capello’s Three Lions won 4-1 in Zagreb in September 2008.

– England are the first team to ever score more than four goals away to Croatia.

– This was England’s biggest ever margin of victory over a nation ranked in the top 50 of the FIFA rankings.

– England’s 7-0 victory was their biggest since beating North Macedonia by the same scoreline in June 2023.

– It’s also their biggest-ever victory in the UEFA Nations League.

– The huge scoreline was reflective of the balance of chances, with England whopping a colossal 6.60xG to Croatia’s 1.50. There’s a good chance you won’t see 6.60xG repeated again in any game, anywhere, this season.

– This is the third year that Harry Kane has scored 10+ goals for England (10 in 2026 so far, 16 in 2021, 12 in 2019). He’s the first player in Three Lions history to have done that.

– Elliott Anderson has reached 20 appearances for England in record-quick time – doing so just 392 days after making his senior international debut. Instant sure starter.

– Jude Bellingham registered one goal and three assists, marking the first time he’s directly contributed to more than two goals in a single England game. He’s also the first Three Lions player to notch three assists in one match since Trent Alexander-Arnold against San Marino in November 2021, and the first midfielder to register four goal involvements for England since David Platt’s four goals against San Marino in February 1993.

– Bukayo Saka scored twice with his right foot. Remarkably, this was the first time in his 378 senior appearances for club and country that he’s scored two right-footed goals in the same game.

– England have now won nine consecutive away matches, equalling their longest winning run on the road, matched by the nine of Alf Ramsey’s World Cup winners between December 1965 and October 1967 (games at the 2026 World Cup don’t count as ‘away’, as opposed to neutral territory).

– Anthony Gordon has now scored headers in back-to-back appearances for England. That’s not especially amazing until you consider he hasn’t scored a single headed goal in his club career (248 appearances).

– England had four different goalscorers in the first half, with Kane, Bellingham, Gordon and Saka all finding the net. The last time that happened was against San Marino in March 2013.

– Gordon has now directly contributed to a goal in each of his last five England appearances, with four goals and two assists.

– Gordon and Kane have both scored in all three of these UEFA Nations League outings in this break. They’re the first duo to score in three consecutive Three Lions games since Kane and Marcus Rashford did so in October and November 2019.