# ‘An eternal shame’: Bilic and Croatia aim to use 7-0 humbling as fuel against England

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/an-eternal-shame-bilic-and-croatia-aim-to-use-7-0-humbling-as-fuel-against-england/
- Published: 2026-11-11T12:30:30+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T13:05:35+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/nov/11/slaven-bilic-croatia-7-0-england-nations-league-wembley
- Topics: Football, Sport, UK, World

## Key points

- Croatia lost 7-0 to England last month.
- Bilic says the team must remember the defeat.
- Perisic is unavailable for the Wembley rematch.

## Summary

Croatia travel to Wembley to face England in the Nations League, still haunted by their 7-0 defeat in Rijeka last month. Manager Slaven Bilic wants the players to remember that humiliation and use it to prevent a repeat, while rebuilding the team’s confidence and self-respect.

Captain Luka Modric said the loss was the first time in his 20 years with Croatia that he had felt ashamed, and Bilic called it an “eternal shame”. Croatia responded by pushing Spain hard three days later, drawing 1-1 before Ivan Perisic was sent off; he will miss the England match. Bilic must address the lack of intensity and the tactical mismatch, while finding a way to limit England’s pace and attacking threat.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.