What time is the England match today? The answer matters less than the result when a side produces a performance like this, because England’s 7-0 win over Croatia on Saturday was the kind of statement that changes the mood around a team straight away.
It was also a strange setting for such a one-sided game. The match was played in front of 6,403 fans, with most of them local children admitted for free, and the atmosphere never really matched the scale of the scoreline. England, though, did exactly what was required once the game began.
Tuchel: the dominant performance is the way to move forward
After the match, Thomas Tuchel said the dominant performance was a way to move forward. He added that there would always be a scar and pain from difficult moments, but that this was the route to take if England are to keep progressing.
That is the key point. It was not just a big win, but a controlled one, the sort that suggests England can settle into a rhythm and keep pushing rather than drift after an early advantage. In broadcast terms, it was a performance that looked comfortable from start to finish, and that is often exactly what coaches want most.
Modric: a catastrophic night
For Croatia, the feeling was the complete opposite. Luka Modric said he felt ashamed after the game and described the night as catastrophic. He said it was difficult to explain a performance without duels, fouls, aggressiveness or togetherness, and added that Croatia had looked like they were four or five players short.
Those are hard words, but they reflect just how badly Croatia were beaten. Modric also said that losing in that manner, and squandering the reputation Croatia had built over the years, was unacceptable. For a player who said he had been there for 20 years, the reaction underlined the scale of the disappointment.
Scott setback adds to the aftermath
Before Croatia, Alex Scott had trained in full and done extra work after the training sessions, but after the match he left the England squad and was expected to be sidelined for two months. It is a separate consequence from the result itself, but it is still a notable part of the same day’s story.
So if the question is what time is the England match today, the deeper answer is that England’s latest outing was the one that mattered most. A 7-0 win is the kind of result that speaks for itself, and Tuchel will hope it becomes a platform rather than a one-off.
