England deliver dominant win over Croatia in Nations League
On Saturday, October 3, England secured a commanding victory over Croatia in the third round of their UEFA Nations League group, confirming their strong form after a previous win over the Czech Republic.
The match
On Saturday, October 3, at 18:00, Croatia hosted England in the third round of their UEFA Nations League group (Group 3). According to Przegląd Sportowy, England won convincingly 5-0, having already led 4-0 at halftime.
The scorers were Harry Kane (9th and 55th minute), Jude Bellingham (22nd minute), Anthony Gordon (40th minute) and Bukayo Saka (45th minute). However, Interia Sport's live match coverage suggests Saka may have scored a second goal around the 68th minute, which would mean the second-half margin was larger than the final 5-0 reported elsewhere. The sources do not agree on this point, and the exact final tally remains unclear.
Context
Both teams had previously lost to Spain this Nations League campaign (England 2-3, Croatia 1-4) and beaten the Czech Republic. Before this match, England sat above Croatia in the group table on goal difference — had Croatia won, they would have temporarily drawn level on points with the group leaders. After this defeat, England's position at the top of the group was further strengthened.
As SportoweFakty notes, the two sides also met earlier at the 2026 World Cup, where England won 4-2.
Team news
Croatia were missing defenders Josip Juranović and Martin Erlić. Veteran Luka Modrić started the match but was substituted in the 58th minute for Kristijan Jakić. Croatia's coach made several attacking changes after the first half. England's goalkeeper was Jordan Pickford, who, according to SportoweFakty, had previously sat out the team's two earlier Nations League matches.
History
According to Interia Sport, this was the 13th meeting between the two nations — of the previous 12 encounters, England had won seven, Croatia three, with two draws.
