Luka Modric and Slaven Bilic rage at ‘catastrophic’ mauling by England | Football

Captain Luka Modric and manager Slaven Bilic were left fuming and ‘ashamed’ after Croatia’s ‘catastrophic’ 7-0 defeat to England on Saturday.

Goals from Harry Kane (2), Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka (2) and Morgan Rogers handed Croatia their heaviest ever defeat.

It was a stunning win for Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions but a punishing loss for Bilic and his team, with the manager only returning for a second stint in charge of his country in July.

41-year-old Modric won his 205th cap for Croatia on Saturday and it is a match he has been left ‘ashamed’ by.

‘No duels, no aggression, no fouls, no unity. I’ve been here for 20 years and I have to say that for the first time I feel ashamed after a game,’ said the AC Milan star.

‘You can lose, they are better, but to lose in this way and ruin your reputation like this, this is unacceptable. For the first time in 20 years I feel truly ashamed.

‘From the first to the last minute, to play like this, this is not how football can be played. Even if you played with two players fewer, you couldn’t play like this, and we looked as if we had four or five players fewer. A catastrophic night.’

Bilic won his first match back in charge of Croatia, beating Czechia 2-1, before a 4-1 loss to Spain and now a battering at the hands of England.

The former West Ham boss said, via Jutarjni: ‘It is difficult to say anything after a night like this. We are sad, disappointed, and I feel sorry for the fans and the children who were at the game.

‘We talked, it is hardest for us, and we did not expect this could happen. I don’t know what to call it, whether it’s a blackout, but it’s hard to analyse a game when you lose 7-0.

‘We knew they were a top team, but that we couldn’t match them in any part, that then attacks your confidence, your will, everything falls apart and goes the wrong way.’

Bilic added: ‘I said this to myself and to everyone, I don’t believe that England would beat Estonia 7-0 at this moment. That is unforgivable for us.

‘We can get out of this with a good performance against Spain, there is time for that. Now is the right time to show unity and character. I’m talking nonsense saying we will beat Spain, but we need to show a brave and good Croatia. We need to show heart.

‘There is no reason for this. We train well, the atmosphere is excellent, hardworking, and every detail is taken care of. I have nothing smart to say, it is clear that the responsibility is mine. We will analyse the match further.’

The match in Rijeka was played in an unusual atmosphere as the crowd was just 6,000 schoolchildren and 100 travelling fans due to Croatian fans being banned.

This was due to crowd disturbances during a Croatia vs France clash in March 2025.

Former Chelsea and France defender Frank Lebeouf said this must be the start of a rebuild for Croatia, telling ESPN: ‘I’m very pleased for England, the way they played they could have scored even more. Well done to the Three Lions, but I’m so appalled about Croatia. I’d never have thought Croatia could be so bad.

‘I’m looking at individuals and saying, but you have players playing in the Premier League! You have big players! You have old players with Modric, with [Ivan] Perisic and it might be the end of those players. But they have to rebuild everything.

‘Slaven Bilic, if he stays, has hard work to rebuild that team that has been absolutely amazing for 28 years. Today that’s the end of it, they have to rebuild everything because that’s a slap in the face.’

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