Thomas Tuchel declared that England have put their World Cup disappointment firmly behind them after his side produced a dominant display to inflict the heaviest defeat in Croatia's history at Stadion HNK Rijeka.
The match, originally set to be played in an empty stadium following Uefa sanctions over racist and discriminatory conduct by Croatian supporters last year, instead saw around 6,200 local schoolchildren admitted free of charge to witness England's attacking firepower on full display.
Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka both found the net twice, while Jude Bellingham was directly involved in four goals, becoming the first England midfielder to achieve that feat since David Platt's performance against San Marino back in 1993. Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers added further goals as England cruised to victory, strengthening their position in second place in their Nations League group with qualification for next year's finals looking increasingly likely.
Speaking after the match, Tuchel suggested the emphatic win was evidence that his squad had processed the pain of their World Cup semi-final exit against Argentina. "If you feel pain you have to lay with the pain," the England manager said. "The same with disappointment. It was not easy at the beginning of the camp. We had an excellent performance against Spain. The focus in the meetings, the translation of the meetings on the pitch, to bring it within these circumstances in Croatia, to win this dominant performance is the way to move on. We'll always have a scar, feel pain, but this is the way to move forward. We've played in the same manner all three matches."
Tuchel praised the complete nature of the performance, highlighting his team's intensity out of possession, creativity on the ball, and pace in transition. Kane, who will match Peter Shilton's England caps record of 125 when the team faces Czechia in their final fixture of this international window on Tuesday, compared the intensity of the display to a Premier League fixture. "They just want to play like this, it's their belief and wish, their conviction," Tuchel said of his forward players. "We don't have to convince them. Harry plays a very intense game at Bayern. We still think we have a certain edge if we play on the front foot. If we push as often as possible in man for man it's what the team likes. We have to manage these risks."
Among the standout individual performances was Alex Scott, who impressed on his first full England start in midfield. Tuchel was effusive in his praise of the Bournemouth player. "First start and what a start," the manager said. "He is so smooth on the ball, his decision making. He plays with so much confidence. He is so active. The work rate off the ball makes him the complete package. We had a lot of variety in the centre of the pitch."
For Scott, the occasion carried extra significance as he lined up against Luka Modric, a player he idolised growing up. "It's pretty surreal," Scott said. "Probably one of my favourite players growing up because I had seen him as a boy. One of the best players in the world on his day. To be on the pitch with him and competing is a great honour and thankfully we got the win today."
Kane, who now has 89 international goals to his name, was impressed by his side's focus despite a relaxed build-up in pleasant surroundings. "Every man was at the highest level," the captain said. "They rested a lot of players on Tuesday. I feel they saw this as their best opportunity to get into those top two spots. During the week it was beautiful weather, an amazing hotel, looking out to the ocean. We could have fallen into that holiday mode."
Croatia, ranked 13th in the world, had been attempting to recover from a 4-1 defeat to Spain earlier in the week, but found no response against an England side determined to prove a point.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.