Luka Vuskovic had a tough night in Rijeka against a rampant Three Lions onslaught.
The Brighton defender started in a back four for Croatia against England but the scale of the Vuskovic Croatia loss became clear from early on.
Harry Kane got in behind him to open the scoring, and Croatia never recovered. By half-time time is was 4-0, with the outcome beyond doubt.
Kane struck again soon after the restart for England’s fifth goal of the night. The Nations League fixture finished 7-0 to England.
Slaven Bilic did not try to single out his young defender afterwards. He called it a team failure, not one man’s mistake.
Croatia now face Spain in Split on Tuesday, their last match of this window. It is not yet clear if Vuskovic keeps his place.
Brighton fans did get some good news, though, in what goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen said about him, with Sunderland to come next Saturday.
First Half Narrative from Rijeka
Bilic’s choice of system raised eyebrows before kick-off.
Zlatko Dalic, the previous Croatia head coach, had only trusted Vuskovic in a back three. Bilic picked a back four in Rijeka instead, and that put far more on his young defender’s shoulders.
The difference matters. In a back three, a young centre back gets cover from a spare man on either side. He rarely has to defend alone.
A back four leaves many more one on one duels, and that was the gap Kane used to get in behind Vuskovic and open the scoring.
England then pushed forward with real intent. They pressed Croatia into mistakes and sent extra numbers forward whenever the home side tried to build from the back.
Croatia went in at half-time already chasing the game. It was done. A sore learning experience.
England turn the screw to record emphatic scoreline
There was no way back for Croatia after half-time.
Kane scored again soon after the restart, his second of the night and England’s fifth. The result was settled long before the final whistle. By full time, the scoreboard read a harsh 7-0.
Bilic did not try to soften it afterwards.
“It’s hard for me, of course. But it’s not just the defence. This was a collective blackout. We were inadequate. I told the players that now they have to show what they can do.”
Those words mattered for how the performance was read back home.
Bilic did not isolate the back four. He pointed to a wider collapse across the whole team, defenders and midfielders alike.
It takes some restraint for a head coach to speak that way after a seven-goal defeat, and it suggests he will not pin the result on one young player.
That matters most for Brighton fans worried about the toll a night like this can take on a teenager still settling into English football.
Croatia have one game left in this window, away to Spain in Split on Tuesday. Vuskovic’s place in that side is far from certain.
Spain will bring different problems again, but for now the bigger picture, in Bilic’s own words, is about the team rather than any one player.
