Nations League, England thrash Croatia 0-7; braces from Kane and Saka

Matchday three of the Nations League produced one of the tournament’s most lopsided results: Croatia-England finished 0-7. On target for the English side were Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka, both scoring braces, along with Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers. A scoreline that speaks for itself in describing one side’s dominance over the entire course of the match, with five different scorers confirming the breadth of the gap on the pitch.

In the same round, Spain beat the Czech Republic 3-1. The Spanish side’s goals bear the signatures of Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Mikel Merino, while Sláma scored for the Czechs. A result that confirms Spain among the form teams of this stage of the continental competition, able to settle the matter with three separate scorers over the ninety minutes.

Outside Europe, in the Brazilian championship Santos won 2-1 away at Sao Paulo, completing a comeback signed by a single player: Gabriel Barbosa first equalised, in the 36th minute, after Luciano had converted a penalty, then scored the winning goal 9 minutes into the second half. A personal brace that earns the Santos side three points on the road in the Brazilian Serie A, in a championship running in parallel with the European national team competitions.

Three matches, three different championships, one common thread: the ability to settle contests with clear-cut individual performances, from the braces by Kane and Saka in Croatia to that of Gabriel Barbosa in the Brasileirão, by way of Spain’s three-goal win over the Czech Republic. Three results that, in the same round, show three different ways of winning: total dominance, measured efficiency, and a comeback signed by a single forward.