The Croatian national team suffered its heaviest defeat in history – England won 7-0 in the League of Nations at Rujevica. Head coach Slaven Bilić, following the match, did not hide his disappointment, describing the result as the biggest defeat and stating that everyone had let the team down.
Bilić stated that he was sorry for the fans and children who had attended the match, adding that they did not expect such an event to occur. "We could not match England in aggression, technique, or physicality," the coach said, noting that he did not recall such helplessness from the first to the last minute. He acknowledged that the team had treated the league matches as a test, but had received harsh answers.
"Matches like the one in Seville should be forgotten, but this one should be remembered for a lifetime," Bilić said. He added that the Croatian fans, the players, and the whole of Croatia did not deserve such a representation of the team. He took responsibility, stating that it was unacceptable to concede 12 goals in three matches. "I do not believe England would beat Estonia 7-0," said Bili, highlighting that only he and the players could draw a good performance against Spain, and that they wanted to find an answer in three days.
The players were also broken. Igor Matanović, who was the first to speak to the media, said he did not know what had happened and that they had not shown heart. "We have a very difficult match on Tuesday," he added, noting that it was nice to play at home and that there were many of their people in Rijeka. Franjo Ivanović stated that they had no explanation and that the match was catastrophic. "We did not enter the duels at all and suffered throughout the match. I have never seen such a Croatia," said Ivanović, adding that it was too much to receive 12 goals in two matches and seven in one. Against Spain, they must improve their play and attitude.
