England kicked off their World Cup Group L campaign with a dramatic 4-2 victory over Croatia at Dallas Stadium. Harry Kane opened the scoring from the penalty spot, but Martin Baturina responded with a stunning long-range effort to level matters.
After the interval, goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford helped secure the win, despite Petar Musa also finding the net for Croatia.
Match Report
England underlined their World Cup ambitions with an impressive second-half performance that guided them to a 4-2 triumph over Croatia in an exciting Group L encounter.
The Three Lions saw their advantage erased twice in the opening half, even though Kane scored twice. However, strikes from Bellingham and Rashford after the restart ensured they emerged victorious.
After a nervous opening period at Dallas Stadium, England were awarded a penalty in the ninth minute when Noni Madueke was brought down by Luka Modric as the Croatian veteran attempted to clear the danger.
Kane’s initial penalty was saved by Dominik Livakovic following a stuttering run-up, but the kick was ordered to be retaken because of encroachment by Josko Gvardiol and Livakovic stepping off his line. The England skipper converted the second attempt.
Croatia drew level nine minutes before halftime through a moment of brilliance from Martin Baturina, who curled Petar Sucic’s cutback into the top-left corner beyond Jordan Pickford’s reach.
England restored their lead six minutes later as an unmarked Kane met Declan Rice’s corner with a powerful header. Yet Croatia responded again in first-half stoppage time, with Petar Musa volleying home after Ivan Perisic’s intelligent headed assist.
The action continued immediately after the break, and England went ahead for a third time just 85 seconds into the second half. Bellingham latched onto Elliot Anderson’s sweeping pass down the right and finished via the left post.
England nearly extended their advantage shortly afterwards, but Livakovic produced a remarkable sequence of saves to deny Nico O’Reilly, Anthony Gordon and Ezri Konsa before preventing Kane from scoring twice more in quick succession.
Although Croatia applied pressure late on, England wrapped up the result five minutes from the end. Substitutes Bukayo Saka and Rashford combined effectively, with Rashford cutting inside Josip Stanisic and placing his shot into the bottom-right corner.
Kane and Bellingham England’s men for the big moments
With Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland all getting on the scoresheet earlier in the tournament, Kane looked determined to make his own impact after an outstanding season with Bayern Munich, and he delivered.
His two goals drew him level with Gary Lineker’s England World Cup scoring record of 10. Kane also became only the second player to score for the Three Lions at three separate World Cup tournaments (2018, 2022 and 2026), matching David Beckham’s achievement in 1998, 2002 and 2006.
England had conceded as many first-half goals in this match as they had across the opening halves of their previous 21 games in all competitions combined. Nevertheless, Bellingham responded in style. Making his 16th appearance at a major tournament, the highest total ever by a European player before turning 23, he produced a decisive display.
Four of Bellingham’s seven England goals have come in major tournaments, giving him the highest ratio among players with at least five goals for the Three Lions (57%). He also contributed defensively, recording three tackles, more than any of his teammates.
Thomas Tuchel introduced several notable changes during the second half, including withdrawing Rice and Bellingham. One substitute, Rashford, made a significant contribution by scoring. He now has four goals as an England substitute, with only Jermain Defoe (seven), Kane and Peter Crouch (five each) having scored more from the bench.
Overall, England will be delighted with the way they responded to adversity and launched their campaign on a positive note. They ended the match with an expected goals (xG) figure of 2.8 from 22 shots, while Croatia generated 0.71 xG from 10 attempts.