ENGLAND launched their FIFA World Cup campaign with a pulsating 4-2 victory over Croatia after Harry Kane scored twice and Jude Bellingham produced the decisive second-half strike to cap an impressive response from Thomas Tuchel's side following a dramatic first-half collapse.
Marcus Rashford added a late fourth goal to secure the result after Croatia had twice erased England's lead during a breathless opening 45 minutes in front of more than 70,000 spectators at the Dallas Cowboys' stadium.
AFP reported the the victory gives Tuchel the ideal start to his quest to guide England to their first major international trophy since lifting the World Cup in 1966, while also avenging the painful semi-final defeat to Croatia at the 2018 tournament.
England captain Kane admitted his side had to rediscover their identity after allowing Croatia back into the contest.
"I thought the game was two halves really," Kane told ITV.
"I thought first half we were okay. Really disappointed to concede in the way we did, the way we dropped off."
"And credit to the manager. The manager gave us a speech at half-time just to say, look, if we lose, we're losing our way."
"And I think you saw that, the way we come out in the second half, we went full gas, and they couldn't live with it."
England took the lead after 12 minutes when Luka Modric brought down Noni Madueke inside the penalty area.
Kane's initial spot-kick was saved by Dominik Livakovic, but French referee Clement Turpin ordered a retake after video review showed the goalkeeper had moved off his line prematurely.
The England captain made no mistake with his second attempt, calmly converting to register his 10th World Cup goal, drawing level with Gary Lineker as England's all-time leading scorer at the tournament.
Croatia fought back on 36 minutes when Martin Baturina finished clinically after England surrendered possession in midfield, but the parity lasted only six minutes.
Declan Rice's corner found Kane unmarked, allowing the striker to restore England's advantage with a close-range header.
However, defensive frailties resurfaced moments before the interval as Petar Musa capitalised on hesitant defending to make it 2-2.
England immediately regained control after the restart.
Just two minutes into the second half, Bellingham surged forward before calmly guiding his finish into the corner to restore England's lead.
The goal transformed England's performance as they dominated possession and repeatedly threatened to extend their advantage.
Kane, Bellingham and Nico O'Reilly all squandered opportunities before Rashford finally wrapped up victory five minutes from time.
Reflecting on England's vastly improved display after the interval, Kane pointed to the team's renewed intensity.
"Just the intensity we went at, I think that's our biggest strength," he said, when asked what was different in the second half.
"So we're going to have to use that more at this tournament."
He added: "Once we went ahead we never really looked like we were in danger."
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic described the encounter as a difficult and unusual contest, conceding his side paid heavily for defensive lapses.
He said England's effectiveness from set-pieces proved decisive.
"It was a strange and difficult match."
"We made a lot of mistakes, especially when it came to set-pieces."
Croatia will look to revive their Group L campaign against Panama, while England will seek to build on their winning start when they face Ghana in their second group match. - June 18, 2026
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