Jude Bellingham celebrates his goal against Croatia

Style of England win over Croatia will raise World Cup expectations

Football
Thu June 18, 2026 · 1w ago

There was a wide spectrum of opinions about England’s preparedness for the World Cup and a long first week of the tournament to mull them over, but no matter how pessimistic or optimistic the preview not a single person predicted the opener would be fun.

Fun is just not a word you associate with England, not since the first wave of Gareth Southgate in 2018, and in truth the waistcoat and unicorns era was predicated entirely on beating Panama 6-1 and a dreadful Sweden side 2-0.

This was something else, a sense of freedom and dexterity built on strong tactical foundations rather than the opposition’s inferiority or set-piece routines, although both of those factors were also present in Dallas.

Croatia looked their age and England needed a penalty and a corner goal to get going, but that isn’t the story of this game.

The story is Thomas Tuchel’s setup, in-game tweaks, half-time team talk, and proactive substitutions; is England possessing the best coach at the 2026 World Cup and immediately feeling the benefits; is England looking as good as anyone else in North America.

The bombardment of the Croatia goal after the break was truly new. England just don’t play with that kind of adventurousness and fluidity in major tournaments, but then again arguably never before have England had a progressive and cutting-edge tactician sculpting the side into a coherent – and confident – whole.

The build-up to England’s opening fixture had been calmer than any other in living memory.

Southgate laid the foundations here by detoxifying the way England interacts with its national team but the appointment of a German head coach with nothing to prove has taken that to the next level, creating a culture of quiet readiness that oozed out of the England performance – perhaps a little too much, hence a casual first half that required a sharp verbal correction at the interval.

From then on Tuchel’s masterplan came to fruition with the cleanest example yet of the identity he has been explicit about creating: an England that leans on its greatest asset, the Premier League, by mimicking high-intensity pressing and rapid transitions.

Harry Kane dropping freely off the front, to create opportunities for fast transitions via wingers driving into the spaces he vacated, arguably had a greater clarity of intent and execution than any other tactical setup we’ve seen at the World Cup so far.

Add to that the domination of central midfield by Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, plus the adoption of Arsenal-style corner routines, and the vision of a Premier League-inspired England comes together.

Nothing could be more Premier League than a world-class coach making smart in-game changes, and Tuchel’s triple substitution – bold, forward-thinking, and unafraid to withdraw big names – was exactly that, as was his instruction to shift the full-backs further infield in the second half, counteracting Croatia’s gradual improvement in central midfield.

The comparisons to England’s World Cup semi-final eight years ago are easy to make but pertinent nevertheless. Southgate famously froze. Tuchel doesn’t just act quickly and confidently, he invariably gets it right, on this occasion following up that triple sub with an even better one in the 80th minute, nipping Croatia’s momentum in the bud by withdrawing Jude Bellingham for Djed Spence.

Even the worries aren’t really worth worrying about.

Much has been made of a shaky-looking England defence, but both Croatia goals were highly unusual scenarios and Tuchel’s side won the xG battle 3.2 to 0.7.

The issues have been overstated, although the decision to drop Marc Guehi for John Stones does not appear to be working. Ezri Konsa and Guehi looked rock-solid together, whereas the new partnership, featuring a defender who barely featured for Manchester City last season, looks suspect.

It is the only point of contention as England prepare to face Ghana, whose bluntness against Panama suggests Tuchel can use next week’s game to iron out issues in the back four, record a clean sheet, and sew up the group.

Doing so would allow Tuchel to play a reserve team against Panama in the final match, a privilege very few nations will get and one that could hand England a major advantage in an eight-game tournament mostly played in sweltering heat.

A win against Ghana and Tuchel can rotate for the Panama game

But beating Croatia 4-2 is worth a lot more than the dynamics of the group stage.

It has given England a sense of fun and light-heartedness, a celebratory energy that will ignite a party atmosphere back home and create a culture of serenity – of joy – that should prove invaluable in the weeks ahead.

England have never started a major tournament like this before. They have never looked so self-assured, so ready.

And with Kane and Bellingham in form, frankly, England have never been this good.

It’s difficult not to get carried away, which is no bad thing; a performance like Wednesday’s actively invites it, and the swagger in the camp right now suggests England, in a major break from tradition, will revel in raised expectations.

More World Cup content from Sporting Life

Group previews

Outright previews

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