"The biggest defeat of all time": devastating reaction for Slaven Bilic and Croatia after debacle against England

Croatia’s national team suffer the heaviest defeat in the federation’s history. The reaction has been correspondingly drastic.

The 0-7 against England on Saturday evening in the Nations League was an "unnatural, unacceptable catastrophe", judged the daily newspaper Jutarnji List. It continued: "Not only do we not belong to the elite, we have become San Marino! The dreams of the quarter-finals have burst, waking up is more painful than after twenty beers."

Elsewhere in Croatia's media, the mood was just as grim. "The desperate Croatia suffer their heaviest defeat in history," wrote Index Sport. 24Sata called it a "huge disgrace!" And telegram.hr labelled it "an unprecedented and profoundly humiliating collapse."

England's papers, unsurprisingly, saw it very differently. "England in seventh heaven. Men against boys. That was child's play," headlined the Daily Mail. The Sun said: "Thomas Tuchel's team caused a stir with one of the greatest away performances in the history of the England national team."

In Rijeka, Tuchel's England dominated from start to finish in front of 6,000 children and young people. UEFA had ordered the match to be played behind closed doors because of racist misconduct by Croatia's fans last year. One rule still allows children up to the age of 14 into the stadium free of charge, though, and the stands were very well filled.

Harry Kane (2), Jude Bellingham (1), Anthony Gordon (1), Bukayo Saka (2) and Morgan Rogers (1) fired the World Cup third-placed side to a sensational win, one the margin fully reflected.

What did Croatia coach Slaven Bilic say?

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic called it "the biggest defeat of all time" and apologised to everyone. "I am sorry. We are disappointed. I am sorry for the fans, I am sorry for the children in the stands. I am sorry for all Croatian fans. I have just been with the players, we spoke briefly, and it is the worst thing for us. We would never have expected it," said the former Bundesliga and Premier League professional.

After three points from three matches, Croatia sit third in Nations League Group 3, League A. Spain lead the section with the maximum haul of nine points, followed by England (6). Czechia (0) are bottom.