England thrash Croatia as Kane stars

FIFA World Cup winners Spain were on Saturday made to work for a 3-1 win against the Czech Republic in the UEFA Nations League while England sparkled in thrashing Croatia 7-0.

Spain recorded their 41st consecutive unbeaten game thanks to an exquisite finish from Lamine Yamal before goals from Rodri and Mikel Merino in Oviedo.

Just as he did at the World Cup, Merino came off the bench midway through the second half and produced a crucial goal at a point in the game when the Czechs seemed to be getting a foothold after Jiri Slama had pulled a goal back.

“They are well drilled, I thought it would be one of the hardest games, and that’s how it was,” Rodri told TVE after Spain claimed a third win from three group games.

Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka both scored twice as England overwhelmed Croatia in Rijeka, with Kane taking his record tally for his country to 89 goals.

Thomas Tuchel’s side sliced through Slaven Bilic’s side to make it two wins from their first three matches in their Nations League group.

Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham, restored to the starting lineup after Tuesday’s 2-0 win against Czech Republic, also found the net to cap a commanding display featuring three assists.

“That was a 90-minute performance at the highest level from everyone. From the first until the last minute, everyone who started and everyone came from the bench,” Tuchel said.

“We kept the pace up and played through the gaps,” the German added. “I love the attitude. We always played humble and always got the basics right, and that’s why it was a complete performance.”

Spain sit top of Group 3 of League A with three wins out of three, while World Cup semi-finalists England are second on six points having lost to the new world champions last weekend.

Scotland finally got a win under new Belgian coach Sebastien Pocognoli as they beat North Macedonia 2-0 away.

An opening goal from Kieron Bowie, his first for his country, was followed by a John McGinn penalty on a night when Andy Robertson won his 100th international cap.

“I was happy for [Bowie], because it was his first goal. I was really pleased with his performance,” Pocognoli said.

Switzerland defeated Slovenia 2-1 thanks to a 10th minute own goal from Erik Janza and a first-half goal from Nottingham Forest winger Dan Ndoye. Like Spain, the Swiss have a full nine points from three games and are top of Group 1 of League B, with Slovenia and the Scots both on four points.

Finland beat Albania 2-1 and Belarus thrashed San Marino 4-0 in Group 1 of League C. In the night’s other matches, Estonia edged Luxembourg 1-0, and Iceland were straightforward 3-0 winners against Bulgaria.

Reigning champions South Korea yesterday struck with eight minutes left to seal a 2-1 win over a “proud” China to reach the Asian Games men’s soccer final. The South Koreans are to face either hosts Japan or Uzbekistan for gold on Saturday as they pursue a fourth consecutive title. Uzbekistan and Japan were tied 1-1 as of press time last night. Bae Jun-ho was their hero, ghosting in at the back post to head in a dramatic 82nd-minute winner at Nagai Stadium.

Men’s soccer at the Asian Games consists of under-23 squads with three overage players. “We were expecting a challenging match but we persevered,”

China’s Wang Xiyu, fresh from conquering top seed Alexandra Eala, toppled Zhang Shuai to win Asian Games women’s tennis singles gold yesterday — and a ticket to the Los Angeles Olympics.
The 25-year-old Wang breezed past her compatriot 6-2, 6-1 in 66 minutes at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Nagoya.
Tennis is one of seven sports at the Games where the winners receive an Olympic qualification place.
Wang paid tribute to the 37-year-old Zhang, who has won multiple Grand Slam doubles titles and has now added a second Asian Games singles silver medal to the one she won in 2018 in

COURT STARS: Taiwan tennis sensations Hsieh Su-wei and Liang En-shuo advanced to the women’s doubles quarter-finals, along with Chan Hao-ching and Wu Fang-hsien Taiwan yesterday picked up two more bronze medals at the Asian Games in Japan, bringing their medal total to 39, including three golds and 10 silvers, to rank 14th in the overall standings. Lin Yu-ting guaranteed herself at least a silver medal in boxing after she outclassed Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova 5-0 in their women’s 60kg semi-final at the Nishio Gymnasium, putting the Taiwanese Olympic champion just one win from a second Asian Games gold.

Lin is tomorrow to face China’s Yang Chengyu in the gold-medal showdown. The 30-year-old thanked the medical team afterwards for treating the cut to her nose she sustained in

Hong Kong’s men’s rugby sevens team romped to a third consecutive Asian Games gold with a dominant display in a 26-0 victory over China yesterday.
Wing Harry Sayers scored a pair of first-half tries, added to by Dafydd Phillips to put Hong Kong in charge 21-0 at the break.
When flying wing Juan Esono Mba Oyana scored Hong Kong’s fourth try straight from the second-half kick-off the result was beyond doubt.
“Amazing, amazing. The Asian Games has been a dream of mine for so long now,” said Sayers.
Hong Kong’s success was built not only on scoring prowess but also a defense that conceded