England beat Croatia 7-0 in front of 6,403 children at behind-slightly-ajar-doors fixture
England defeated Croatia 7-0 in a behind-slightly-ajar-doors fixture on Saturday, played before 6,403 spectators most of whom were local children admitted free. The result prompted strong post-match responses from Croatia captain Luka Modric and England manager Thomas Tuchel.
Television coverage captured the reactions in a match that, according to the report, left many of the young attendees exposed to a heavy defeat. "It is difficult to find an explanation for such a performance without duels, fouls, aggressiveness, togetherness," sobbed Luka Modric. "I’ve been here for 20 years, but for the first time I feel ashamed after a game. You can’t play football like that; we looked like we had four or five players less. Losing like this and squandering the reputation we’ve built over the years is unacceptable. It was a catastrophic night."
The coverage described Croatia as "lacking in every single department" while saying England "excelled in all of theirs," with pundits and observers reacting strongly to the scoreline and the unusual match-day audience. Commentators noted the surreal sight of the rout being witnessed largely by children, and one report said the TV director was "spoilt for choice" for camera cutaways.
Some commentators suggested this result was among England’s best under Thomas Tuchel, though Football Daily argued that the team’s earlier "bravura backs-to-the-wall victory over Mexico at the Geopolitics World Cup knocked it into a c0cked hat." Tuchel himself said: "To win this dominant performance is the way to move on," he parped. "We’ll always have a scar, feel pain, but this is the way to move forward."
England’s manager also faced an injury issue after the game, with Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott said to have aggravated a thigh-knack he’d picked up before the match; he left the England squad and is expected to be sidelined for two months. "I’m very sad about it," sighed Tuchel. "He trained in full before Croatia, did extra work after the training sessions, we knew he was in treatment but there were only green lights from him and the medics. Even before the scan he didn’t feel [knacked] so it’s a strange one. There was zero risk taken from our side."
The Football Daily email noted other items in its 13th annual edition of the series, "kicking off with a focus on 20 of the best young talents in the Premier League." Readers were invited to "Join Daniel Harris at 7.45pm BST for red-hot Nations League updates, including Northern Ireland 0-0 Georgia, Belgium 0-1 France, and more." The newsletter also carried an unrelated South Korea item quoting Asian Games captain Lee Gi-hyuk saying, "I’m not going to the military" and later publishing his apology: "I got caught up in the happiness, adrenaline and excitement of the moment. I am deeply sorry to the fans who are currently fulfilling their military duty, as well as to all those who sincerely supported us. As an adult I should have thought carefully before speaking. I deeply regret having spoken so carelessly, and I will continue to reflect on my actions" – Lee subsequently apologises.
Reader reaction and letters featured in the email included Nigel Sanders suggesting the free-admission policy for Croatian children should be copied at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: "The opportunity was given to allow Croatian children to attend for free, in spite of the closed match status. To watch some of the kids still having a fantastic time, despite their team being 5-0, 6-0 and finally 7-0 down made me think that this policy should be copied at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to improve the overall ambience in the ground when Spurs are home and most likely losing" – Nigel Sanders. Michael Lloyd wrote: "It’s often intriguing to find ‘unintended consequences’ that result from different actions. During the 0-7 (seven) shellacking, it was revealing to note that when playing to an audience of children, grown-up men’s teams refrain from corner kick wrestling and rolling around, play-acting. Might there be scope for extending such conditions to the Premier League?" Michael Monroe contributed: "The NFL designated the Washington Commanders as the ‘home’ team in Sunday’s cash gra … er, game in London. In our friendly NFL pool, therefore, I picked the Colts because the home team never wins in Tottenham. Thanks NFL" – Michael Monroe. Today's letter o’ the day went to "… Michael Monroe, who wins a copy of Games of My Life by Sir Alex Ferguson." The email reminded readers that "Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here." It also invited readers to "Join the pod squad for the latest edition of Football Weekly and watch it here. This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions."
Those present at the match were noted as likely to have another England fixture on Tuesday night against the world champions Spain, and the report expressed the hope that the young attendees would be "safely tucked up in bed and fast asleep" ahead of that appointment with Spain.
