England’s stars were in action on the big stage as Thomas Tuchel’s side sealed their early success in the World Cup with a thrilling game against arch-rivals Croatia.
Harry Kane twice gave them the lead for the team that beat England in the World Cup semi-final eight years ago, before Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford powered through to seal a memorable victory.
Despite a nervy start, it was England who took the lead, with Kane converting his second penalty kick after Dominik Livakovic was caught narrowly off his line. Kane’s goal restored England’s composure, but Croatia hit back with Martin Baturina’s excellent effort from the edge of the box. Kane put England back in the lead with a header from Declan Rice’s superb corner kick, but Croatia were now back on level terms with a goal from Petar Moussa.
England came out of the blocks in the second half and regained the lead within 90 seconds when Bellingham broke into the box and scored a clinical finish, but Nico O’Reilly should have increased their lead from a corner just minutes later. England continued to add momentum to the opposition goal and eventually reaped the rewards, with an ice-cold Rashford adding a slick goal in the dying embers.
Introducing mirror football topics from England’s big win…
1) Already a penalty drama
What about England and penalties? no thanks. Everyone knew the score when it came to the Three Lions and the spot-kick, and the stage was set for early drama from 12 yards when Luka Modric’s wild swinging foot caught Noni Madueke as the veteran playmaker tried to defend a corner.
Kane stepped up and stumbled before Livakovic dove to his left and palmed the ball. However, the Croatian goalkeeper was off his line before the kick was taken and Josko Gvardiol, who cleared the ball, was seen sneaking into replays.
This gave Kane two bites of the cherry, but the England captain made no mistake. He had the nerve to send the recovered kick into the same corner, but the second time he was unguarded and Livakovic dove in the opposite direction.
2) Kane and Competent
Kane scored from the spot and a corner (Image: The FA via Getty Images)
Lionel Messi. Erling Haaland. Kylian Mbappe. Like the rest of the world’s elite attackers, the England captain is fully committed to the tournament. Kane came into his own here and was completely unaffected by his spot-on mistake despite being given an opportunity to make up for it right away.
No player has scored more World Cup goals for the Three Lions than England’s Mr Dependable. He joins Gary Lineker with 10 goals each. But make no mistake, it’s not a question of if Kane will surpass Lineker in the next month or so, but when.
3) Bellingham proves his point.
Jude Bellingham started in number 10 position and achieved results (Image: François Nel)
The fuss over England’s number 10 position, which had dominated the narrative in the lead-up to this World Cup opener, disappeared in the Texas heat as Bellingham led England to victory.
It’s really outlandish that there was even a debate over Bellingham’s spot in the starting lineup in the first place. England have a lot of great players, especially in attacking areas, but Bellingham has that X-factor.
If England are to win the World Cup, Bellingham just needs to play. That should have always been obvious. That’s certainly the case now.
4) Croatia Strikes Back – And Strikes Back Again
Petar Moussa scored Croatia’s second goal just before half-time to put England back on track (Image: Mark Atkins)
As for the opening match, England had one of the most difficult games on paper. They were well aware of what Croatia was capable of, and it proved that when they fought back twice in the first half to take the game in their favor.
The biggest concern for England was that both goals were poorly scored. Thomas Tuchel’s side looked clever and dangerous going forward, but Croatia attacked them twice early on and scored twice. Especially for the second goal, England got through far too easily.
England have plenty of firepower and in Kane they boast one of the best No.9s on the planet. But they’re going to have to play a lot better defense than they did when they were here. Marc Guehi, perhaps the team’s most impressive player at Euro 2024, is absent here and how England missed him with John Stones and Ezri Konsa looking uncertain.
It’s still early days and it’s important to keep things in perspective. But if there was one downside from the thrilling victory, it was the defensive side of England’s play.
5) Tuchel’s men respond to requests
England players celebrating (Image: Charlotte Wilson)
Minutes after seeing Croatia equalize again, England assistant Anthony Barry gave a rather harsh assessment of the half-time performance. It was clear that England’s bench was not at all impressed with what they saw.
What followed was a perfect response. Bellingham put England ahead in the 47th minute, and together with his teammates they laid siege to the Croatian goal. A very impressive attack early in the second half led to an incredible Bellingham goal. Yes, we had some issues defensively. However, England looked a real threat every time they advanced. Probably better than anyone we’ve seen so far in this World Cup.
Bellingham and Kane will be the focus of attention, but Madueke was fit throughout, ahead of Bukayo Saka, who is recovering from an Achilles injury. Saka then ended the game by scoring Rashford as England’s fourth man after both players were brought on from the bench, underscoring the strength of England’s front line.
We have seen many strong players fail to live up to expectations during the opening week of the World Cup, but England are definitely not one of them.
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