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The story
In the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League, Croatia suffered a crushing 0-7 defeat at home to England on October 3 (local time). Croatia’s previous record margin of defeat was 0-6 against Spain in 2018, making this the biggest loss in the national team’s history. They conceded four goals in the first half alone, then let Kane and Saka add more in the second half, prompting the local newspaper 24sata to brand it “the worst match in history.” On 5ch forums, many pointed to the aging of key players like Modrić and a stalled generational transition, drawing attention to the contrast with an England side stacked with young talents like Bellingham and Saka.
The UEFA Nations League 2026/27 League A, Group 3, Matchday 3 clash between Croatia and England took place on October 3 (local time), with Croatia suffering a massive 0-7 defeat at home. Their previous record defeat margin was 0-6 against Spain in 2018, so this surpassed that to become the largest losing margin in the national team’s history.
Croatia conceded the opener to Harry Kane in the 8th minute, then goals from Jude Bellingham in the 21st, Anthony Gordon in the 39th, and Bukayo Saka right before halftime made it four goals down by the break. The second half brought more from Kane and Saka, and Morgan Rogers added a seventh in the 87th minute. Croatia never mounted a response, sealing a historic rout.
Local media tore into the beaten Croatian side. Croatian newspaper 24sata called it “the greatest humiliation at Rujevica,” slamming it as “one-sided from start to finish — a game of cat and mouse,” and noting that “the players were completely unprepared, both mentally and physically.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
You don't get to see a scoreline like that very often.
They've been through a war and they're a small country, so they really did well to get this far.
Is Modrić still the main man?
He's benched a lot at Real Madrid too these days —
whenever they face a strong team in the Champions League, he just doesn't have the intensity anymore.
at the Euros under Southgate, remember.
World Cup 3rd place — that's clearly strong.
Hard to say whether England (5ch nickname “Chingrand”) were just that strong or Croatia were just that weak,
but at home, this is clearly a historic humiliation for Croatia.
If it were just a friendly, fine, but this is the Nations League — not much prestige yet, but a real competition nonetheless.
This is going to stick in Croatian fans' memories as a painfully bitter one.
Honestly, 0-7 almost feels like it could've been worse.
Bellingham especially looked like he was having the time of his life, doing whatever he wanted out there.
Croatia's midfield was way too porous.
Japan would probably lose to them too, something like 0-3.
Uruguay has about the same small population, and they struggle with generational turnover for the same reason — not enough people to draw from.
The population argument doesn't hold up — just look at India or China.
So why did they turn around and play such a sloppy second half against Brazil?
all entering a dark age.
Looks like their generational transition straight-up failed, lol.
Compare them to the Faroe Islands at best.
*tsk*… we're, uh, reflecting on it.
He's the best midfielder in Europe right now, surely.
There's no way this score is just luck.
Motivation probably played a big part in it too.
Both Baturina and Vušković started.
Background and Key Points
Croatia have long been a powerhouse, finishing runners-up at the 2018 World Cup and third at the 2022 World Cup, but the squad is said to be aging around veterans like Modrić, with the next generation slow to emerge. England, by contrast, are stacked with players in their early twenties like Bellingham, Saka, and Gordon, and are often held up as a contrasting example of a successful generational handover. Some in the thread floated match-fixing suspicions given the lopsided score, but the Nations League also serves as a developmental competition, and gaps can show up in extreme ways between teams at different stages of squad-building. It’s more reasonable to read this as a generational talent gap surfacing rather than anything untoward. For reference, the previous record losing margin was 0-6 against Spain in 2018, a mark this result has now surpassed.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisokuho+) thread “[Soccer] Modrić stunned as Croatia suffer historic 0-7 defeat to England at home, local media slams it as “the worst match in history”.”
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