Thomas Tuchel has been advised to make a change to his England World Cup team despite a strong start against Croatia. England kick-started their World Cup campaign with a thrilling 4-2 win over the 2018 runners-up and 2022 semi-finalists.
England's World Cup opener
Three Lions captain Harry Kane scored a first-half brace, converting from the penalty spot at the second attempt before heading home Declan Rice's corner. England were still level at half-time, however, with Croatia twice stunning Tuchel's side through goals from Martin Baturina and Petar Musa.
Euro 2024 finalists England were the better side for most of the opening 45 minutes and asserted their dominance after the break, taking the lead for a third time through influential midfielder Jude Bellingham. The Three Lions created numerous chances to put the game to bed, finally doing so in the 85th minute when substitute Marcus Rashford scored England's fourth.
England already have one foot in the knockout stages but will be keen to continue their momentum when they face Ghana on Tuesday night before their final Group L game against Panama.
Defensive concerns raised
Fans and pundits were largely impressed by England's opening performance in Dallas, but former defenders Danny Mills and Wes Brown both believe the team would benefit from one tweak. John Stones and Ezri Konsa started in the two centre-back positions, with Marc Guehi surprisingly left on the bench following a brilliant season for Manchester City and Crystal Palace.
Guehi was one of England's best players at Euro 2024, and both Mills and Brown would bring the former Palace captain back into the side going forward.
Wes Brown's verdict
'I thought Marc Guehi would start alongside John Stones against Croatia,' former Manchester United defender Brown told BetGoodwin. 'It was all a little bit shaky in the first half at times; England weren't very decisive in defence. What I will say is that in the second half, everything was a lot better, including at the back.
'Croatia aren't the side they used to be, but they're still a good team and we did well to beat them. Personally, I'd go with Stones and Guehi for the next game, with Ezri Konsa dropping out. They've been playing and training with each other at Manchester City for the past six months, so it's a relatively experienced partnership.'
'Stones and Konsa last night looked a bit nervy, so that's what Thomas Tuchel will look at and try to sort out before the Ghana game.'
Danny Mills' analysis
Ex-England defender Mills added to Sky Bet: 'If John Stones is 100% fit, I'd always play him alongside Marc Guehi. I think they've got an understanding at club level which is vital. Ezri Konsa did well, but my preferred partnership would be Stones and Guehi because I think they have a better understanding.
'The left-back situation is going to be interesting. Nico O'Reilly is much better going forward than he is defensively, and that's fine against teams that aren't at the very top level like Croatia.
'You've now got two games where we expect England to win relatively comfortably. Ghana might be a little trickier, but you'd still expect England to pick up at least four points from the next two matches. The real test will come in the latter stages when you have to be defensively very sound.
'When you've got players from Argentina, Brazil or France attacking you, that's when England will have to tighten up as the tournament progresses. There will be lessons to learn from Croatia – defensively, England need to be tighter. You can't afford to concede two simple goals against some of the best teams because that will cost you in the latter stages of the tournament.
'I think that will improve as players become more accustomed to the tournament and more familiar with each other. Attacking-wise it's never really been a problem. The main concern is defensive positioning and solidity. We always knew that was probably going to be England's biggest weakness in the tournament. If they can address that, we know that on their day England can match anybody.'
England are bidding to win their first World Cup since 1966, having reached back-to-back European Championship finals under Sir Gareth Southgate. The Three Lions lost in the quarter-finals to eventual runners-up France in the last World Cup in 2022.
