Kane says England 'sent a message' with thumping win over Croatia
Harry Kane said England had sent a resounding message to the rest of Europe with their 7-0 victory over Croatia, but stressed that the same relentless mentality must carry into major tournaments.
Kane scored twice as England ran riot in Rijeka on Saturday, securing back-to-back Nations League victories after their opening 3-2 defeat to Spain. Bukayo Saka also struck twice, with Anthony Gordon, Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers completing the scoring.
Thomas Tuchel's side produced an expected goals figure of 6.43, the highest ever recorded in a Nations League game across any tier. The result was England's biggest victory against a team in the top 50 of the FIFA World Rankings and the heaviest defeat in Croatia's history.
“Even when we were 1-0 up, we went for two, went for three, went for four, and that's got to be our mentality.”
Kane said England's approach needed to remain consistent, regardless of the scoreline or the occasion.
“When you have a certain style of playing, you can't just pick and choose when you want to do it. It's just relentless. It's non-stop.
“You get four, you want five. You go and have a hungry mentality. That's needed to change, especially in the bigger games, in the bigger tournaments, and these games will only help us.”
He also warned against underestimating the achievement against Croatia.
“We were playing against a really good side. We can't take this type of win for granted because it could have been a really tricky game for us.
“And it's always about sending messages, not just to yourself, but to the other teams around Europe. I think we've done that again.
“We're hungry. We're a young team. We have players in amazing form right now, and I think everyone's just excited to be out there on the pitch. Performances like this will only make us more motivated.”
Another scoring first for Kane
Kane now has 11 England goals in 2026, becoming the first player to reach double figures for the Three Lions in three separate calendar years.
- 2019
- 12goals
- 2021
- 16goals
- 2026
- 11goals
Both Kane and Gordon have scored in three consecutive England games, the first pair to achieve that feat since Kane and Marcus Rashford in 2019.
England's previous seven-goal victory came against North Macedonia in a Euro 2024 qualifier three years ago. They next welcome Czechia to Wembley on Tuesday for their final fixture of this international break.
Should Kane feature, he will draw level with former goalkeeper Peter Shilton at the top of England's all-time appearance charts on 125 caps.
