Nations League matchday 3, Saturday: England win 7–0 in Croatia, Spain and Switzerland stay perfect

Saturday closed matchday 3 with eight matches and 27 goals, and one result that will be remembered: England won 7–0 against Croatia in Rijeka, four of the goals coming before half-time. Spain beat Czechia 3–1 in Oviedo and still lead League A, Group 3 by three points from England, and Switzerland came from behind to beat Slovenia 2–1 and keep their own perfect record. Scotland won 2–0 in North Macedonia with ten men at the end. Six of the eight matches were home wins, two were away wins, and none was drawn.

The afternoon

Finland 2–1 Albania in Helsinki turned on a red card. Rey Manaj put Albania ahead on 4 from Kristjan Asllani's pass, but Etrit Berisha was sent off on 22, and Leo Walta equalised on 26 and scored the winner on 71. Finland had 60 per cent of the ball but three shots on target from eleven; ten-man Albania put five of thirteen on target. Finland lead League C, Group 1 by a point from Albania.

Croatia 0–7 England was over by the break. Harry Kane scored on 8 from Jude Bellingham's pass, Bellingham on 21 from Anthony Gordon's, Gordon on 39 from Jarell Quansah's and Bukayo Saka on 45 from Bellingham's. Kane added a fifth on 53 from Elliot Anderson's pass, Saka a sixth on 68 from Kane's, and Morgan Rogers, on as a substitute on 70, the seventh on 87, Bellingham's third assist. England put ten of nineteen shots on target; Croatia managed one from twelve. Sky Sports calls it Croatia's biggest defeat, in front of a crowd that included only 100 away fans. "We were so fluid from the start," Thomas Tuchel told ITV Sport, as Sky Sports reports. It follows England's 4–2 win over Croatia at the World Cup in June.

Belarus 4–0 San Marino was played in Budapest and was goalless at half-time. Artem Kontsevoy scored on 46 from Kirill Pechenin's pass, Artem Shumanskiy, on as a substitute on 55, on 65, and Max Ebong on 68, both also from Pechenin's passes, before Kontsevoy added a fourth on 88 from Shumanskiy's. Belarus have four points; San Marino have lost all three without scoring.

Iceland 3–0 Bulgaria in Reykjavík belonged to Orri Steinn Óskarsson. He scored on 37 from Hákon Arnar Haraldsson's pass and on 60 from Mikael Anderson's, missed a penalty on 84, and set up Mikael Ellertsson for the third on 90. Iceland put six of ten shots on target and had nine corners to Bulgaria's one.

Estonia 1–0 Luxembourg in Tallinn was settled by Rasmus Peetson on 5. Estonia put nine of fourteen shots on target and Anthony Moris made eight saves for Luxembourg, who had 54 per cent of the ball. Luxembourg were shown six yellow cards.

The evening

Spain 3–1 Czechia at the Carlos Tartiere in Oviedo started as Spain's last two matches had, with a Lamine Yamal goal inside the first six minutes: he scored on 6 from Dani Olmo's pass. Rodri, Rodrigo Hernández Cascante in full, made it 2–0 on 35. Jiří Sláma pulled one back on 69 from Adam Hložek's pass, but Ladislav Krejčí, booked on 79, was sent off on 85, and Mikel Merino, on as a substitute on 67, made it 3–1 on 89. Spain had 70 per cent of the ball and ten shots on target; Czechia had two from five, and Antonín Kinský made seven saves. UEFA notes that Spain have opened a Nations League campaign with three straight wins for the first time.

Switzerland 2–1 Slovenia in Lucerne began with Žan Vipotnik scoring for Slovenia on 2 from Aljoša Matko's pass. Erik Janža turned the ball into his own net on 10 and Dan Ndoye scored on 38, and the second half was goalless. Switzerland had 67 per cent of the ball and six shots on target to Slovenia's three. They have nine points and have conceded once in three matches.

North Macedonia 0–2 Scotland in Skopje was Andy Robertson's 100th cap, Sky Sports reports. Kieron Bowie scored on 7 from Billy Gilmour's pass, his first goal for Scotland according to UEFA. A penalty awarded for a fall by Ben Gannon-Doak was overturned by VAR on 51, but John McGinn scored a second penalty on 69. Scott McKenna was sent off on 83 for a last-man challenge, in Sky Sports' account. Scotland had 25 shots, ten on target; North Macedonia had none on target. It was Sébastien Pocognoli's first win as Scotland coach, at the third attempt. "I'm very pleased with this first win," he told BBC Scotland, as Sky Sports reports.

The groups after Saturday

• League A, Group 3: Spain 9 (+6); England 6 (+8); Croatia 3 (−9); Czechia 0 (−5).
• League B, Group 1: Switzerland 9 (+7); Slovenia 4 (+1); Scotland 4 (−1); North Macedonia 0 (−7).
• League C, Group 1: Finland 7 (+8); Albania 6 (+4); Belarus 4 (+2); San Marino 0 (−14).
• League C, Group 4: Iceland 7 (+6); Estonia 5 (+1); Luxembourg 3 (−3); Bulgaria 1 (−4).

Numbers to know

• Twenty-seven goals in eight matches, and 75 in the 26 matches of matchday 3.
• England's 7–0 equals Finland's 7–0 in San Marino as the widest winning margin of the campaign.
• Kane, Yamal and Walta lead the scorers with four goals each.
• Spain and Switzerland join Portugal and Montenegro on nine points from three matches.
• Three red cards: Berisha's on 22, McKenna's on 83 and Krejčí's on 85.
• North Macedonia, San Marino, Georgia and Liechtenstein have yet to score in the competition.

Next up

Matchday 4 starts on Sunday 4 October with Azerbaijan v Lithuania at 13:00 UTC, Kosovo v Austria and Malta v Andorra at 16:00, and five matches at 18:45, among them Greece v Germany and Portugal v Norway. Saturday's four groups play again on Tuesday 6 October, all at 18:45 UTC: Croatia v Spain, England v Czechia, Switzerland v North Macedonia, Scotland v Slovenia, Albania v San Marino, Belarus v Finland, Estonia v Iceland and Luxembourg v Bulgaria. The full round is on the Nations League page.

Sources for the context: UEFA, Sky Sports, Sky Sports.