England beat Croatia 7-0 in Rijeka, and Modric says he felt ashamed

England beat Croatia 7-0 in Rijeka on Saturday night, the heaviest defeat in Croatia's history as an independent state. The old mark was a 6-0 loss to Spain in September 2018, less than two months after Croatia had played in the World Cup final in Moscow. Luka Modric, 41, the country's most-capped player, said afterwards it was the first time in 20 years with the national team that he had felt ashamed.

The match was a UEFA Nations League group game at Stadion HNK Rijeka. Croatia were 4-0 down at half-time. Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka scored twice each. Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers scored the others. Mateo Kovacic was booked. The crowd was made up mostly of schoolchildren, because UEFA had shut Croatia's own supporters out of the ground.

How the seven arrived

Kane needed eight minutes. Bellingham slid him through and the England captain put the ball high into the net. Bellingham scored the second himself on 21 minutes, stabbing in from close range after Gordon kept a deep cross alive. The third and fourth before the interval came from Saka and Kane again. Gordon and Rogers, with Saka's second, finished the scoring after the break. Croatia did not score.

Modric did not argue the ranking. "It is difficult to find an explanation for such a performance without duels, fouls, aggressiveness, togetherness," he told Jutarnji. "I've been here for 20 years, but for the first time I feel ashamed after a game. You can lose, or play against an opponent who is better, and they are right now. But in any case, losing like this and squandering the reputation we've built over the years is unacceptable." He added that Croatia had looked like a side with four or five players fewer. "You can't play football like that. You can't play with two players less, you can't play like this. A catastrophic night."

What the table now says

The result leaves England three points clear of Croatia at the halfway stage of Group A3, and in position to reach the quarter-finals. Spain, the world champions, have a perfect record in the group and beat Croatia 4-1 on Tuesday. Croatia host Spain in Split on Tuesday. Modric's last public line on that game was narrow: the squad has to stay together because a difficult match is next. A second heavy loss in four days would put relegation to League B on the table rather than a quarter-final.

The 2018 comparison is a record, not a mood. Croatia's previous worst, the 6-0 in Spain, came in a side that still had the World Cup final XI mostly intact. This 7-0 came with Modric still starting at 41, in a competition UEFA uses as the path between European Championships, and in a stadium whose own fans were absent. The school crowd changes the sound of the night. It does not change the record. The Croatian federation now has a number, 7-0, that no later friendly can tidy.

England had arrived in Rijeka as group leaders and left with a goal difference that Croatia cannot erase in one night. The Nations League awards a quarter-final place to the group winner, and a relegation playoff to the side that finishes bottom. Three points clear at halfway, with Spain still to visit Split, England's path is a win or a draw in the remaining fixtures. Croatia's path is a result against the world champions on Tuesday and then a recovery of goal difference that a 7-0 hole makes arithmetically harsh. Modric's phrase about four or five fewer players is a captain's reading of a shape, not a headcount. Croatia named a full side. The distances between their midfield and the England runners were the gap he was describing.

Tuesday in Split is the open item. Spain won the first meeting 4-1 and have taken every point so far. A Croatia side that could not win a duel on Saturday is now asked to host that Spain team with its own supporters back in the ground. The record book already has the 7-0. The table will say, by Wednesday morning, whether the shame Modric named becomes a relegation fight.