Harry Kane bagged a brace as England beat Croatia 4-2 to make a winning start to their World Cup campaign.
Match Overview
Croatia have become something of a rival for the Three Lions in recent years and this match had a certain derby feel to it. Kane gave England the lead twice in the first half, once from 12 yards and again from a corner, but they were pegged back both times by well-worked team goals from the Vatreni, their toughest rivals in Group L, before second-half hits from Jude Bellingham and substitute Marcus Rashford put the result beyond doubt.
After a tense build-up to the tournament and unconvincing performances in warmup friendlies, Thomas Tuchel will be rightly thrilled to make a winning start to his first World Cup, though he will be keen to mend defensive frailties before facing Ghana and Panama.
Early Action
There was an early warning shot from Croatia as Josip Sutalo shot over from a corner in the third minute, but England soon took control and it was not long before they led.
Their first set-piece of the day caused plenty of problems, and Clement Turpin had no choice but to point to the spot after Luka Modric's clumsy tackle on Noni Madueke. Dominik Livakovic saved well from Kane's first attempt, but the England captain was given a second bite of the cherry after the Croatia shot-stopper was deemed to have come off his line.
Of course, Kane did not repeat his mistake. His second spot-kick was almost a carbon copy of the first - he shot to the same side but Livakovic guessed wrong and England had an early lead.
Croatia Fight Back
Croatia livened up after the hydration break but England remained threatening. Madueke fizzed a smart cross flashing through the six-yard box which Bellingham fell short of by half a pace.
But England's momentum was stemmed as Martin Baturina curled home from the edge of the penalty area, his deliberately placed shot nestling in the top corner despite Jordan Pickford's best efforts.
The match would not remain level for long, though, and another corner proved Croatia's undoing as Kane found himself unmarked and slammed a bullet of a header beyond Livakovic to restore England's advantage. They seemed set to lead into half-time, before Croatia levelled again through Petar Musa, who fired home from close range after a deft knock-down from Ivan Perisic.
Second Half Dominance
England assistant coach Anthony Barry raged in a half-time interview with ITV that England had fallen into "fearful patterns" during a "complicated and confusing" first-half, and that sentiment must have translated well into the team-talk. It took Bellingham just 85 seconds to put his country back in front, firing low across goal after skinning his marker down the right flank.
And England were prepared to put Croatia to the sword, with Declan Rice forcing a superb stop from Livakovic moments later. The barrage continued as Tuchel's men enjoyed a hugely dominant spell during which they could, and perhaps should, have killed the game off, but the margin remained at one.
The late introductions of Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Morgan Rogers threatened to extend England's lead but Croatia had the better of the play in the closing stages, keeping Pickford busier than ever.
But a composed Rashford beat his man and passed the ball into Livakovic's bottom-right corner to ensure the Three Lions would take all three points home to Kansas City. England return to action on Tuesday, facing Ghana in Boston.
