The Croatian national team suffered its heaviest defeat in history, losing 0-7 to England on Saturday. HNS President Marijan Kušić entered the Croatian team's locker room after the match, where he addressed the players and the entire coaching staff.
Novak TV's Stjepan Antonijević revealed what Kušić told the players and coach Slaven Bilić. Kušić stated that the way Croatia played the match and the attitude towards the jersey were unacceptable, but at the same time, he offered full support. He told the players that they had not become worse footballers because of one defeat than they were before the match, and he expects their reaction in the next match. He expressed hope that each representative would show how much they care about the Croatian jersey and how much they want to make up for the debacle against England. Support was also given to coach Bićo to continue working.
In the match at Rujevica, England was convincing, with Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka each scoring two goals. The scorers also included Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon, and Morgan Rogers. Croatia thus suffered its heaviest defeat in history; the previous negative record was a loss to Spain in September 2018, when Spain won 6-0. The debauchery at Ruva was also commented on by Tomislav Ivković for Dnevnik HRT.
After three rounds, Croatia remained on three points. Bićo's team started the competition with a 1-2 win against the Czech Republic, then lost 4-1 to Spain in Seville. Spain won the third round 3-1, holding the top of group A3 with nine points. England has six points, Croatia three, and the Czech Republic none.
Croatia will face Spain on Tuesday, October 6, at Poljud in the fourth round of the League of Nations. It will be the second meeting between these two teams in just a week. The match at Split's Poljud will be officiated by Belgian referee Erik Lambrechts, with assistants Jo de Wildt and Kevin Montijn. The fourth official will be Nathan Verboomen, while the VAR referee will be Bram van Driessche from Belgium, with his assistant in the VAR room being Bert Put.
