Six-Goal Thriller: England Punish Croatia I…

England opened their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia at the AT&T Stadium on Wednesday night.

Fixture: England v Croatia
Score: 4-2
Goalscorers: Kane (12′, 42′), Bellingham (47′), Rashford (85′) / Baturina (36′), Musa (45+5′)

Three Lions coach Thomas Tuchel went for Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon to flank Harry Kane instead of Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford, while veteran midfielder Luka Modric was playing his fifth tournament for the Croatians.

Modric, however, committed a costly error after just nine minutes when he brought down Madueke in the box, earning England a penalty. Harry Kane dispatched the spot-kick at the second attempt after his first was saved, after re-take was ordered after goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic left his line to early.

Tuchel’s charges were quite dominant on the ball before the mandatory hydration break, with Madueke justifying his inclusion in the side by being England’s biggest threat down the right flank and carving out some big chances.

That all changed after the break as Croatia grew in confidence and started to dictate play, with Modric getting his foot on the ball, which resulted in the equaliser ten minutes before the break courtesy of a superb strike Martin Baturina.

That joy didn’t last too long as England restored their lead three minutes before the interval through Kane, who lost his marker and nodded home Declan Rice’s corner, but the pendulum swung once again when Croatia equalised for a second time courtesy of a lovely volley from Petar Musa.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first, with England restoring their advantage for a third time when Jude Bellingham raced clear from Elliot Anderson’s pass before firing into the far corner, opening his account for the campaign.

The Croatians looked to get themselves back in the contest as the second half went on but they surprisingly withdrew Modric for Mateo Kovacic with around 30 minutes left on the clock, before England threw on Rashford and Saka.

It was Tuchel’s substitutions that paid off in the end as Saka picked up a loose ball and turned provider to play in Rashford, who did well to skip past one challenge before calmly slotting home into the far corner to seal victory for the Three Lions.

Next Fixtures:

England: Ghana, Panama

Croatia: Panama, Ghana

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