England produced their attacking best display for a long time to thrash Croatia 7-0 on Saturday evening.
Though this is not the Croatia of old and England were heavy odds-on favourites to return home with three points, the manner of a performance Thomas Tuchel described as 'complete' was striking.
Jude Bellingham was at the heart of it, laying on the first for Harry Kane then scoring the second. Bellingham would end the game with a hat-trick of assists together with his goal and Croatia could not contain him.
Nor could they get a handle on Kane, neither when he dropped deep to help dictate play nor when his clinical finish from 10 yards out put England ahead, while Bukayo Saka twice scored with his right foot having been gifted the ball for his first and space for his second.
For all England's attacking prowess, this was a shocking defensive display from Croatia, who afforded Kane more space for England's fifth and had all but given up by the time Morgan Rogers danced clear, rounded the goalkeeper, and put the seal on an enjoyable night for Tuchel's side and their travelling supporters.
And this was not a side who were simply too clinical for their opponents. England created 11 big chances and an eye-watering 6.14 Expected Goals (xG), limiting Croatia to one massive opportunity they ought to have taken shortly after going three down in the first half.
'Complete performance'
Tuchel told ITV: "Maybe three minutes after the 3-0 where we had the big mistake and some easy ball-losses, but that was a 90-minute performance at the highest level from everyone.
"From the first until the last minute, everyone who started and everyone came from the bench, it was the highest level and congratulations to the team.
"We created so many chances. The first 40 minutes we were so fluid from the start. I remember looking at the clock, I thought, 'wow, this is a good three minutes', then looked again and it was a good seven minutes.
"It just never stopped. We kept the pace up and played through the gaps. We were very clinical. Stayed hungry in our counter-pressing and defending, so we did the basics right. I love the attitude. We always played humble and always got the basics right and that's why it was a complete performance."
Bellingham was the star of the show and drew rich praise from Roy Keane, who said: "He can go on to be one of the greatest players of all time. He's a huge leader for them."
England now return home to face Czechia for the second time during this international break, having won the first 2-0.
Should Kane feature as expected, he will match Peter Shilton's record 125 England caps before surpassing it when England face Croatia again in November. On the evidence of Saturday, he might just mark the occasion with a hatful.
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