England player ratings from the 7-0 win over Croatia: Fantastic Four dazzle for Tuchel

England stormed to an uncomfortably crushing win over a desperately poor Croatia, who were hampered by having a crowd that was too young and players who were too old.

Thomas Tuchel’s side swarmed all over them to march into a 4-0 half-time lead that in no way flattered the visitors in Rijeka, with every member of England’s front four on the scoresheet. By midway through the second half, three of them were also on the assist list while Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka had two goals each as England inflicted a record 7-0 defeat on a team that has been to both a final and semi-final at World Cups within the last decade.

There will be inevitable focus on what was a wretched Croatia performance, but it should not be lost in the undeniable truth of that part of it that England were absolutely scintillating from start to finish.

Jordan Pickford

Back in the team for the first time since the World Cup semi-final and was off his line very smartly to deny Ivan Perisic the first time Croatia managed to drag their weary, ageing bones as far as the England area. Pickford used every inch of that box to gather the ball in at Perisic’s feet. Beyond sorting out the occasional corner, he had pretty much nothing else to do, leaving him sufficiently bored at one time to launch into a full-length dive in the general direction of a shot heading several yards wide, as is his wont.

Jarell Quansah

Channelled his inner Trent Alexander-Arnold even before setting up Anthony Gordon with a teasing cross from the right. He’d been wandering infield from his starting station at right-back to pick up possession in interesting places long before that. Doubts will inevitably remain against tougher opposition, but that’s also true, to be fair, of the actual Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Lewis Hall

Was a standout performer in England’s win over Czechia. Played just as well here. But wasn’t a standout. That instinctive relationship he has with England’s now established first-choice left-winger Anthony Gordon may have nudged him ahead of Nico O’Reilly et al in the battle for that spot.

Marc Guehi

A ludicrously straightforward night for England’s centre-backs, who had very little to do beyond the occasional bit of routine mopping-up and receiving a pass from Pickford a couple of times.

Ezri Konsa

See above.

Elliot Anderson

Got away with a horrible moment when carelessly and too-easily dispossessed on the edge of his own box, Mateo Kovacic inexplicably putting his effort wide when it was genuinely easier to score. It set off a slightly careless and sloppy spell for England.

But that was a rare blip from a man who, alongside his old England U21 mucker Alex Scott thoroughly dominated the midfield battle against a couple of bona-fide (if ageing) Croatia legends.

Got himself forward to provide the cross at the end of a wonderful England move for the fifth goal just after half-time.

Alex Scott

Tone-setting early involvement in regaining possession high up the pitch to help create the opening goal, and then proceeded to have an absolutely lovely time bossing a midfield containing Mateo Kovacic and Luka Modric. That’s not quite the achievement it might have been a few years ago, but still. It was obviously the attacking players that most dramatically caught the eye on a wonderful night for England, but so much of what they did so wonderfully further forward was built on the endeavours of the midfield pair.

Will have tougher nights in England colours, but that’s because he’s going to have a lot of nights in England colours.

Bukayo Saka

Has not had the best break for England, and surely couldn’t believe his luck with just how easily he was able to score England’s fourth goal before half-time, racing to the six-yard line in the middle of the goal, and somehow becoming less marked by just standing there until Bellingham picked him out to tap home. Somehow then managed to score an even easier one, laid on by Harry Kane, after the most egregious Croatia defensive error of the night. Which is really f*cking saying something.

Jude Bellingham

An assist and a goal inside the first quarter of the game as he first played in the inevitable Harry Kane before being arriving at the precise right place at the precise right time to profit from Gordon’s brilliance for England’s second. Came as close as possible to returning the favour minutes later with a glorious low cross from which Gordon should really have done better than hitting straight at the keeper from close range.

Another smart cross was turned home by Bukayo Saka for England’s fourth. Was less influential after the break, but after the break it really didn’t much matter. And he did still register another assist late on for sub Morgan Rogers.

That’s now eight goals and five assists for Bellingham in 11 England games since the start of the World Cup, when beating Croatia 4-2 seemed impressive enough.

Anthony Gordon

Just having a lovely, lovely time, isn’t he? Gordon was twice played in down the left inside the first 10 minutes to test Barcelona team-mate Dominik Livakovic (what a sentence that is, by the way) either side of Harry Kane’s opening goal in a rapid start from England. Did brilliantly to keep Bukayo Saka’s deep cross alive to set up the second goal for Jude Bellingham. A brilliant run got him in for what looked like a certain third goal for England, but his close-range effort was straight at the keeper.

Finally(?) got his now inevitable goal before half-time, with what is becoming his trademark England finish: arriving at the back post to head home a bouncing ball delivered by the right-back.

The absence of Marcus Rashford through injury in this camp gave Gordon the chance to establish himself as England’s clear first choice on the left. He has taken that chance.

Harry Kane

Scored with his first chance as a high-pressing England pounced magnificently on Josko Gvardiol’s early error, and added a second with a close-range finish in the second half.

As well as his goals and a selfless assist for Saka when 99 per cent of strikers on a hat-trick (or not on a hat-trick) would surely have gone for goal themselves from an only slightly worse position, he also did his usual trick of popping up absolutely everywhere. We tried to keep a tally and by our reckoning the only position he didn’t turn up in, apart from in goal (a position where, to be fair, Jordan Pickford barely had to turn up), the only one we didn’t tick off was right-back. Possible we just missed it.

Substitutes

James Garner (for Scott, 70)

The game was long over before Garner got 10 minutes in midfield and 10 minutes at left-back.

Morgan Rogers (for Gordon, 70)

Laid on a chance for Saka to complete his hat-trick which was flashed over the bar from a tight angle before helping himself to England’s seventh goal by smartly rounding the unfortunate Livakovic to score after a simple ball forward from Bellingham carved Croatia entirely and embarrassingly open.

Eberechi Eze (for Kane, 70)

Had an effort saved when he was offside and then bungled a counter-attack with the final chance of the game. Fair to say by this point nobody was too downbeat about it.

Morgan Gibbs-White (for Anderson, 79)

Got one nice cross in but the game was in full winding-down mode by the time of his appearance in it.

Myles Lewis-Skelly (for Hall, 79)

Replaced England’s left-back for the final 10 minutes, but did not go to play at left-back. He went into central midfield, with central midfielder James Garner shunted out to left-back. Who says Germans have no sense of humour?