Harry Kane struck twice as England overcame two Croatia equalisers with second-half goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford to seal a winning start to their World Cup campaign in Dallas; Three Lions top Group L with Ghana next up.
An electric second half ensured England made a winning start to their World Cup campaign, with Thomas Tuchel’s side showing their attacking excellence in a 4-2 victory over Croatia.
In a reversal of the Gareth Southgate story at Euro 2024, when England’s defence was solid and their attack dependent on individual moments of inspiration, in Texas they were nervous and jittery at the back but relentless on the front foot.
The highlights reel will give England fans plenty to revel in before their next Group L game with Ghana on Tuesday night. Some clips of their defending will give Tuchel cause for concern.
Captain Harry Kane’s importance to England’s prospects was underlined by his first-half double, which featured a retaken penalty and an expert header from Declan Rice’s fine corner.
But Croatia twice pegged England back, scoring from their first two shots on target with the centre-back selection of John Stones and Ezri Konsa in the spotlight. Martin Baturina’s hit was a bolt from the blue after a Stones slip and England dropped too deep for Peta Musa’s well-worked second, with Konsa unable to prevent Ivan Perisic nodding a chipped pass to the goal-scorer.
After the interval, though, England were a different beast; intense as they battered the Croatian goal. Jude Bellingham drove down the right, into the box and then fired into the far corner just two minutes into the second half to restore England’s lead. They would finish the match with 22 shots to their name.
Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic’s heroics somehow kept Croatia in it but subs Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford combined late on for the latter to score the fourth and reflect England’s dominance.
This wasn’t the perfect start but it felt like a significant win, with a second-half performance which will fuel belief that England – with a different approach in this new era – can match or even better what they have achieved before under Southgate.
