England's seven-goal spree sends message to Euro rivals: Kane

London: Harry Kane said England's 7-0 rout of Croatia in the Nations League served as a statement of intent to their European rivals.

Thomas Tuchel's side ran riot in Rijeka on Saturday thanks to Kane's double and a brace from Bukayo Saka.

Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers were also on target for the Three Lions in the biggest win of Tuchel's reign.


Bayern Munich striker Kane, who has 89 goals from 124 internationals, believes the dynamic performance served a blueprint for England as they build towards co-hosting Euro 2028.

It was a stark contrast to England's meek surrender when Tuchel adopted a defensive game plan in the closing stages of their World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina in July.

"Even when we were 1-0 up, we went for two, went for three, went for four, and that's got to be our mentality," Kane said.

"When you have a certain style of playing, you can't just pick and choose when you want to do it. It's just relentless. It's non-stop.

"You get four, you want five. You go and have a really hungry mentality.

"That's needed to change, especially in the bigger games, in the bigger tournaments, and these games will only help us."

Inflicting Croatia's heaviest ever defeat, England showed the pace, poise and movement that went missing in the latter stages of the World Cup.

Kane is convinced England's ability to put Croatia to the sword showed they are not to be underestimated by the other top sides in Europe.

"We're playing against a really good side. We can't take this type of win for granted because it could have been a really tricky game for us," the England captain said.

"And it's always just sending messages - not just to yourself, but to the other teams around Europe. I think we've done that again.

"We're hungry. We're a young team. We have players in amazing form right now, and I think everyone's just excited to be out there on the pitch.

"Performances like this will only make us more motivated."

Kane is set to become England's joint highest-capped player on Tuesday against Czech Republic at Wembley when he will draw level with Peter Shilton on 125 caps.

The 33-year-old also has another target in his sights as he is 11 away from a century of international goals.

"It's coming. It's 89 now, so obviously, it's getting closer and closer," he said.

"We have a special game on Tuesday in terms of the caps, obviously 100 goals is a nice round number and it would be incredible to reach, of course."