England Survive Sloppy Defending to Hammer Croatia for Maximum Points

An electric second half ensured England made a winning start to their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign, with Thomas Tuchel’s side showing their attacking excellence in a 4-2 victory over Croatia.

In a reversal of the Gareth Southgate story at Euro 2024, when England’s defence was solid and their attack dependent on individual moments of inspiration, in Texas last night, they were nervous and jittery at the back but relentless on the front foot.

The highlights reel will give England fans plenty to revel in before their next Group L game with Ghana on Tuesday night. Some clips of their defending will give Tuchel sleepless nights.

Captain Harry Kane’s importance to England’s prospects was underlined by his first-half double, which featured a retaken penalty and an expert header from Declan Rice’s fine corner.

But Croatia twice pegged England back, scoring from their first two shots on target with the centre-back selection of John Stones and Ezri Konsa in the spotlight. 

Martin Baturina’s hit was a bolt from the blue after a Stones slip and England dropped too deep for Peta Musa’s well-worked second, with Konsa unable to prevent Ivan Perisic nodding a chipped pass to the goal-scorer.

After the interval, though, England were a different beast; intense as they battered the Croatian goal after the restart. 

Jude Bellingham drove down the right, into the box and then fired into the far corner just two minutes into the second half to restore England’s lead.

Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic’s heroics somehow kept Croatia in it but subs Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford combined late on for the latter to score the fourth and reflect England’s dominance.