Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka enjoyed a memorable night as England swept Croatia aside 7-0 in their UEFA Nations League clash. Saka scored twice in a dominant display, while Harry Kane also claimed a brace and Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers found the net.
England set the tone early with a high-energy performance that overwhelmed Croatia. Saka’s first goal arrived just before half-time, when he finished from close range after Bellingham broke forward and delivered into the box. He struck again after the interval, reacting quickly to a loose Croatian pass before combining with Kane and finishing for England’s sixth.
Saka delighted with England’s performance
Speaking to ITV after the match, Saka called it “an amazing night for us” and said England “punished them”. The Guardian’s report of the interview records him praising the team’s energy and clinical finishing; he also said scoring twice for England was “always a nice feeling”.
The winger said the performance showed the hunger, passion and quality England want to bring into their games. The result gives the team a major boost as they continue their Nations League campaign, with three group matches still to play.
Saka was one of five Arsenal players selected for England’s latest squad. He also contributed to England’s progress at the World Cup, including providing the corner for Bellingham’s goal against Panama in our report on England topping their group.
Saka praises Bellingham and Gordon
Saka also singled out Bellingham, saying he was “amazing tonight” and deserved recognition as England’s player of the year. He added that he was happy to play alongside the midfielder. Saka praised Gordon’s form for the national team too, describing him as another player who is playing well in an England shirt.
The win gives England a major boost ahead of their final fixture of this international break, with two more group games still to come. What did you make of Saka’s performance and England’s display? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
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Pleased for Saka but that’s a typical England display, flat track bullies when it comes to the smaller teams but go missing when it really matters, some things never change! 😀
It’s unfortunate that this kind of derisive rhetoric is what pops up as the first comment following a brilliant performance by one of the world’s top teams.
Croatia are not at the level thy once were but are still respectable opponents and one of the top 20 teams in the world. This was Croatia’s worst defeat in their history.
The all round play of England was exceptional. Skill, pace and power were all on display to an high level. England also have great strength in depth.
England have shown that they would be handful for any team in the world. This was even evident in the earlier loss to Spain.
England made Croatia look a mediocre team on their turf. Tuchel is finding the attack chemistry. Particularly conceding no goal while scoring this amount of goal is superb team performance. Quansah made the works of Saka easier as he was coming forward a lot
Shame he didn’t find it for the world cup, which actually mattered. Including playing Saka..
England came third in the World Cup, with one or two terrific performances, which wasn’t too bad, TBH.
Croatia are ranked 13th in the world, just one place behind Germany and two ahead of Italy.
It was an exceptional win against a decent team, who knocked England out of the World Cup not too long ago, but are currently experiencing some issues and having to play to reduced crowds in smalller stadium due to supporters’ behaviour.
That was a reply to Dave.
Speaking purely from an Arsenal fan stand point, Saka can you now start to produce that for you’re club at a more consistent level. Many thanks, in advance.
I endorse the wisdom of David .One of the best displays I have seen from England for some considerable time, and didn’t Alex Scott do well in his first start? He linked up beautifully with Anderson in central midfield to the extent that Rice may no longer be an automatic starter .Certainly Tuchel has a number of high quality options in midfield and up front, and if he can tighten up at the back against top calibre sides, England could be a match for any international side, including Spain.
Come on folks, sure it’s a big win but have a look at the state of Croatia, they’re rubbish compared to what they were a few years ago, their ranking doesn’t mean much going by their recent displays, they were rubbish at the world cup. As for England they weren’t much better either, nearly got done by DR Congo and bottled it against the Argies, they’ll probably do the same at the Euros in a few years, scrap out some results before they eventually get found out by France or Spain.