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One of the criticisms of Thomas Tuchel’s England at the World Cup this summer was they were at times a bit too cautious.
The Three Lions would often take the lead, then sit back and try to protect it instead of going for more. That eventually caught up to them in their 2-1 semi-final defeat to Argentina.
There was none of that in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday, though, as England thrashed Croatia 7-0 in Rijeka. In this week’s SVQ, we’ll go over the best numbers from that game, and also tell you the latest landmark that awaits Harry Kane on Tuesday.
For those of you patiently waiting for club football to return, never fear, we are just days away. Ahead of the Premier League coming back after this elongated international break, we look at how teams have performed so far.
We also have an Ask Opta question about the average age of managers, and another Nations League quiz to see how much attention you’ve been paying these last couple of weeks.
But first, have you ever wanted to blend it like Beckham?...
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😮 STAT: England’s Rout and Kane Caps
Due to a UEFA ban, Saturday’s Nations League game between Croatia and England had to be played behind closed doors. Or at least, adult Croatia fans weren’t allowed in. One hundred travelling England fans were given tickets, as were around 8,000 local schoolchildren in Rijeka.
However, England made it their mission to disappoint those children. No, they didn’t take away their Pogs or their Tamagotchis (those are still popular, right?) but they set about dismantling Slaven Bilic’s side with ruthless authority, hammering them 7-0.
It was a truly remarkable performance from Thomas Tuchel’s men and was England’s biggest victory since they beat North Macedonia by the same score in June 2023. It was their biggest ever win in the UEFA Nations League.
England also equalled their longest ever winning run away from home, having recording nine victories in a row between December 1965 and October 1967. It will be a big ask to beat that record, though, as their next away game is against world champions Spain in November.