Harry Kane says England’s 7-0 Nations League demolition of Croatia in Rijeka sent a clear warning to the rest of Europe, but stressed the team must carry the same ruthless mentality into major tournaments.
Kane scored twice as Thomas Tuchel’s side followed their opening 3-2 defeat by Spain with successive Nations League wins. England were dominant throughout, recording an expected goals (xG) total of 6.43 – the highest ever recorded in a Nations League match at any level.
Bukayo Saka also scored twice, while Anthony Gordon, Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers completed the scoring.
The result was England’s biggest victory over a side in the top 50 of the FIFA World Rankings. It was also the heaviest defeat in Croatia’s history.
“We were 1-0 up and we went for two, went for three, went for four, and that’s got to be our mentality,” Kane told ESPN.
“When you have a certain style of playing, you can’t just pick and choose when you want to do it. It’s just relentless. It’s non-stop.
“You get four, you want five. You go and have a hungry mentality. That’s needed to change, especially in the bigger games, in the bigger tournaments, and these games will only help us.”
Kane said England’s performance was particularly significant because Croatia had the quality to make the match difficult.
“We were playing against a really good side. We can’t take this type of win for granted because it could have been a really tricky game for us,” he said.
“And it’s always about sending messages, not just to yourself, but to the other teams around Europe. I think we’ve done that again.
“We’re hungry. We’re a young team. We have players in amazing form right now, and I think everyone’s just excited to be out there on the pitch. Performances like this will only make us more motivated.”
The two goals took Kane’s England tally for 2026 to 11, making him the first player to score at least 10 goals for the Three Lions in three different calendar years. He also scored 12 in 2019 and 16 in 2021.
Kane and Gordon have now scored in three consecutive England matches, making them the first pair of players to achieve that since Kane and Marcus Rashford in 2019.
England’s previous seven-goal victory came against North Macedonia in a Euro 2024 qualifier three years ago. They now return to Wembley to face Czechia in their final match of this international break on Tuesday.
If Kane plays, he will draw level with former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton at the top of the country’s all-time appearance list, with 125 caps.
