Kane and Saka hail ‘unbelievable’ win over Croatia

Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka praised England's intensity, freedom and attacking quality after the Three Lions produced an emphatic 7-0 win over Croatia in the UEFA Nations League.

Captain Kane scored twice and provided an assist as he moved onto 89 goals in 124 England appearances, leaving him one cap away from equalling Peter Shilton's all-time men's appearance record of 125, which he can do when England host Czechia on Tuesday 6 October.

Saka also struck twice, putting England into a 4-0 lead with his first as he did in the Three Lions’ 6-4 victory over France in this summer’s FIFA World Cup Bronze Final.

Reflecting on the display, Kane felt England had produced the complete performance they had been searching for.

“Unbelievable from start to finish, I think we spoke a lot about having a 90 minute game where, from start to finish, we were just completely dominant, both with the ball and without the ball, and I think that was it right there," said Kane.

"We're at our best when we're free, when we're physically just overpowering, when we make it a Premier League level, and you sort of saw out there today, they couldn't live with our pace, our movement, our runs, and we were just technical in today's match as well."

The England skipper also highlighted the fluidity of the front four, which kept Croatia's defence under constant pressure

"I think there's freedom. All four of us are good players, we can play in the tight pockets, we can play, you know, Ant can play as nine, Bukayo come in as a ten, Jude off the nine, I can play as a midfielder, and it's so hard for the opposition to pick up.

"The bottom line is, if you lose the ball, we're all smart enough and good enough to just cover in midfield or in defence, and that's just the way we want to play."

Saka was equally delighted after netting twice for his country and helping inspire an electric England display.

"It was an amazing night for us. From the start, we were top. We played with high energy, high spirit and we punished them. We enjoyed that performance.

"It was special and it was really fun to play. We played with energy and we were really clinical today, that made the difference. Two goals for England is always a nice feeling so I am really happy with that."

Looking ahead to Tuesday's meeting with Czechia, the fourth and final match of this extended UEFA Nations League camp, Saka added: "We showed the hunger, the passion and the quality that we have. It was a mixture of everything that we are looking for as an England team. We're really proud and we want to finish strong on Tuesday."