Kane and Saka each score twice as England rout Croatia 7-0 in Nations League
England beat Croatia 7-0 at Stadion HNK Rijeka in the Nations League on 3 October 2026, with Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka each scoring twice and Jude Bellingham contributing a goal and three assists.
The victory strengthened England’s hold on second place in their Nations League group and, the report said, boosted their hopes of reaching next year’s quarter-finals. The Stadion HNK Rijeka crowd included 6,200 local under-14s who were admitted free of charge after UEFA’s sanction that had initially required the match to be played behind closed doors, while 100 England fans were also given tickets.
England opened the scoring after eight minutes when Marc Guéhi intercepted a loose pass from Josko Gvardiol; Bellingham then shovelled a ball through and Kane, clear of Gvardiol and Luka Vuskovic, rammed a shot past Dominik Livakovic. Bellingham made it 2-0 in the 21st minute, stabbing in from close range after Anthony Gordon plucked a Bukayo Saka cross and sent a low ball into the six-yard box.
Jarell Quansah, one of five changes made by Thomas Tuchel, whipped in the cross for Gordon to head home and make it 3-0, while Tuchel also restored Jordan Pickford in goal; Pickford made a key early intervention to smother Ivan Perisic as England defended the lead. Gordon’s goal continued a run in which he has a goal or assist in each of his last seven England games.
On the stroke of half-time Kane dropped deep to spark a counter that ended with Bellingham feeding Saka for a score, and after the break Elliot Anderson’s run and cross allowed a stretching Kane to add another. Kane set up Saka again for the 68th-minute goal, and near the end Bellingham sent substitute Morgan Rogers through to make it 7-0.
Alex Scott produced an “exceptional full debut”, the article said, impressing in his second cap with tenacity and quality on and off the ball and supplying a defence-splitting pass to release Gordon; Scott resumed his Under-21 partnership with Anderson and, along with Bellingham, was singled out as superb. A rare misstep from Anderson created a chance for Mateo Kovacic, who rounded Pickford but shot wide.
Croatia, managed again by Slaven Bilic in his second spell, removed Luka Modric during the match; Modric is 41 and was accompanied by Mateo Kovacic. The report noted England could have scored more heavily against opponents ranked 12th in the world, and Tuchel took satisfaction in other members of his front four getting on the scoresheet; Kane marked his 124th cap with his 88th and 89th international strikes.
Kane, the 33-year-old forward, will equal Peter Shilton’s appearance record when England host Czechia on Tuesday.