England started their World Cup with victory by overcoming Croatia 4-2 in a thrilling clash in Dallas.
Harry Kane put the Three Lions ahead early, converting a penalty that was initially saved, only for goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic to be adjudged to have stepped off his line, giving the England captain the chance to retake it.
The remainder of the opening half was fairly even, and Croatia equalised through a superb Martin Baturina strike after some lax defending.
Kane re-established England's lead with a thumping heading from a Declan Rice corner shortly before the break, but there was still time for a further defensive lapse to allow an unmarked Petar Musa to sweep home in the 50th minute.
Thomas Tuchel's assistant coach Anthony Barry spoke live on ITV at half-time and made it clear how unhappy they were with the team's first-half display, and whatever was said in the dressing room did not take long to have an effect.
Jude Bellingham latched on to a wonderful Elliot Anderson through-ball that came at the end of a 20-pass sequence to fire England back in front barely 90 seconds into the second period.
That goal triggered a 10-minute onslaught that Croatia somehow survived, but they never truly recovered.
England managed the rest of the match superbly, making sure of the result via a breakaway goal from substitute Marcus Rashford, who calmly stroked the ball into the far corner in the 85th minute to release the growing tension inside Cowboys Stadium.
More World Cup content from Sporting Life
Group previews
- Group A: Mexico; South Africa; South Korea; Czechia
- Group B: Canada; Bosnia; Qatar; Switzerland
- Group C: Brazil; Morocco; Haiti; Scotland
- Group D: USA; Paraguay; Australia; Turkiye
- Group E: Germany; Curacao; Ivory Coast; Ecuador
- Group F: Netherlands; Japan; Sweden; Tunisia
- Group G: Belgium; Egypt; Iran; New Zealand
- Group H: Spain; Cape Verde; Saudi Arabia; Uruguay
- Group I: France; Senegal; Iraq; Norway
- Group J: Argentina; Algeria; Austria; Jordan
- Group K: Portugal; DR Congo; Uzbekistan; Colombia
- Group L: England; Croatia; Ghana; Panama
Outright previews
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
