The match was dying when Jude Bellingham retreated deep into England's half to ask for the ball, as if he was still hungry for more.
Two touches of the ball coincided with him scanning the field around him, before the third came to catch the arcing run of substitute Morgan Rogers. A brilliantly weighted and precise pass opened up Croatia's reeling defense once again and, almost unbelievably, gave England their seventh goal.
Bellingham remained standing, about 60 yards from Rogers' celebrations, raising his arms in the air. He completed a hat-trick of assists, along with his early goal, to provide, in a year filled with exceptional achievements, a near-perfect performance for a midfielder.
According to “The Athletic” network, no English midfielder has ever contributed to four goals in one match since David Platt’s brilliance in the 6-0 victory over San Marino in 1993.
Bellingham, the Real Madrid star, discovers new levels of brilliance in the England national team shirt. His masterpieces in the World Cup, when he scored seven goals and was only bettered by Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, revealed a player whose influence is constantly increasing, and the 7-0 sweep of Croatia came to confirm the continuation of this trend.
From the first moments to the last, Bellingham combined vision, skill and non-stop action. The other players around him in the English attacking line, such as Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon, were very influential, but Bellingham was incessantly brilliant.
It was the kind of performance that makes you think about what he can still achieve.
Roy Keane, while working as an analyst for YTV, said: “Bellingham can become one of the greatest players in history.”
The journey towards reaching that status has already begun.
Bellingham already has 59 caps and 14 goals for his country, and will only turn 24 next summer. Kane remains undoubtedly the most prominent face of the national team and one of the greats of the modern era of English football, but Bellingham's leadership qualities have become more evident over time.
As for the leadership armband, which he wore during the last twenty minutes after Kane left, it seems that its final fate will be around his arm. If his career continues like this, nothing seems more certain.
From outside the list to embodying Tuchel's ideas
Just 12 months after being left out of the national team, Bellingham is now one of the players who most embody Thomas Tuchel's vision.
There is physical strength and sharpness, but they are also coupled with cunning and intelligence. Tokhel sees himself as a player who never stops searching for more.
Commenting on Bellingham's performance in the press conference after the match, the German coach said: “If you stop where you are, it is as if you are standing on an escalator. You have to develop and push yourself to reach the next level. We changed some things and gave the players responsibility, and they are a group you can trust. “It was impressive.”
The contrast between the two No. 10s has never been greater than in Rijeka.
Luka Modric, Croatia's most famous and celebrated player, found himself unable to keep up with the rhythm of an intense match, before his torment ended when he was substituted in the second half, while Bellingham, 18 years younger than him, was leading the torment of coach Slaven Bilic's team.
The difference between them that night seemed so great as to be almost unfair.
Bellingham was doing the same things Modric used to do in his prime; He passes balls between the lines to create goals, then reaches the penalty area himself to score.
His assist for Kane's opener eight minutes later was superb, before Bellingham turned in Gordon's cross for England's second goal.
It was Bellingham's eighth goal in his last 11 international matches. For comparison, he only scored six goals in his previous 48 international matches.
An attacking quartet that exhausted Croatia
But it wasn't just Bellingham.
The attacking quartet, consisting of Gordon and Saka on the wings, and Bellingham behind Kane, made the Croatian team dizzy, and all four players were able to score before the end of the first half.
As for the frustrating excessive caution that ended England's World Cup campaign in the semi-finals against Argentina, it was not present this time.
Tuchel said: “The movements in the last line were at the highest level. It's teamwork, but the front four looks very dangerous. “This was the first time this group played together like this.”
When asked if it was England's best performance since taking over, he replied: “Yes, I think so. “It was a complete performance.”
The result could have been greater.
Bellingham wasted a great opportunity in the second half, while Gordon could have scored a hat-trick before finally finding the net six minutes before the end of the first half.
The worst defeat in Croatian history
Croatia had never lost by such a margin in their history, yet the hosts came away grateful that things had not gotten worse.
The only blessing for Bilic was that the stands of the “Stadion HNK Rijeka” stadium included only school children, who were invited by the Croatian Football Federation to attend after disciplinary sanctions imposed by the European Football Association (UEFA) prevented the sale of tickets to the fans.
Under normal circumstances, the reaction to a defeat this severe would have been extremely violent.
“From the first minute, England was superior in every detail,” Bilic told reporters in a tone filled with frustration. They were faster and fiercer. “They were simply better.”
But the children who attended the match at least got a chance to see Bellingham's talent up close, after they had enthusiastically chanted his name during the warm-ups before the match.
Bellingham responded to their chants by waving to them as he headed to the dressing rooms, but he did not give the Croatian team any mercy on the field, in a victory that put England in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals of the European Nations League.
As for his final pass to Rogers, which concluded a sweeping English night, it confirmed that the punishment continued until the final moments.
