UEFA Nations League 2018, England 2-1 Croatia: 5 Talking PointsÂ
It was an enthralling encounter between the two sides on the night as the final group stage match's result was crucial for either nation's hope for qualifying to the next round.
It was England who came out on top against the World Cup finalists on the night and topped the group.
England started the game brighter of the two sides, and completely dominated proceedings for the first 20 minutes of the game.
Wave after wave of attack was turned away by the resilient Croatian defence as Gareth Southgate's men lacked the clinical edge to separate them from the travelling team.
Sime Vrsaljko was taken off at the 26th minute due to injury, adding to Croatia's woes, who were already without key players Ivan Rakitic, Mateo Kovacic and Daniel Subasic amongst others who could not take part on the night.
England was dominant throughout the first half and Croatia could do nothing but sit deep and defend, hoping to spring on the counter. They were fortunate to go to halftime with no goals conceded, as Kalinic was forced into several saves.
The Croats grew into the second half, and looked more dangerous on the break, as Andrej's Kramaric's deflected shot went past the sprawling Jordan Pickford to open the scoring for the game.
England responded by taking off Ross Barkley for Dele Alli, and later Fabian Delph and Marcus Rashford for Jesse Lingard and Jadon Sancho respectively.
The former levelled the scoreline five minutes after coming off through the easiest tap in, as a long throw from Kyle Walker into the box caused panic amongst the visitor's defence, allowing Lingard to score the easiest goal of his career as he tapped in from half a yard.
He later cleared the ball off the line as Damagoj Vida put a stronger header in from a perfect corner by Luka Modric, continuing his hot streak for his country, as he was also the match-winner against the USA in Wayne Rooney's final appearance.
Harry Kane poked in a beautiful cross from a Harry Chilwell set piece to give England the lead after going down, and Croatia from being top of the group was now relegated into League B. Here are the talking points from the game.
#1 England was the deserved winner on the night, despite the scrap
England was simply quite brilliant on the night, just lacking that cohesion and clinical edge in the final third that could've really made Croatia suffer for the lack of intensity on the night.
Croatia was quite solid defensively up to a point but played a very conservative game after going a goal up, trying to sit deep and invite pressure, which proved to be their downfall.
They missed a brilliant opportunity to go two up a few minutes after scoring, as Marcelo Brozovic hit his effort wayward from the goal.
Lingard equalised scores a few moments later, and England relegated Croatia to League B by getting a deserved victory and three points on the night.