England Opens 2026 World Cup Campaign with 4-2 Victory over Croatia

England opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 4‑2 victory over Croatia in Group L in Dallas.

Harry Kane gave England the lead twice in the first half, but Croatia equalised each time through Martin Baturina and Petar Musa.

Jude Bellingham restored England’s advantage in the 47th minute, and Marcus Rashford added a fourth goal late on to seal an exciting match.

England had an early golden opportunity in the ninth minute when Luka Modrić forced a high boot from Noni Madueke inside the penalty area. Kane’s spot‑kick was saved by Dominik Livaković, and both he and Josko Gvardiol were penalised for encroaching; Kane then missed his second attempt.

Baturina levelled for Croatia in the 36th minute with a powerful long‑range strike that beat Jordan Pickford, who could only touch the ball with his fingertips.

England reclaimed the lead six minutes later when Kane headed home a corner from Declan Rice at the far post, but Zlatko Dalić’s side equalised before the break.

Musa followed Ivan Perišić’s clever header, catching England off the offside trap, to bring the score to 2‑2 with the final kick of the first half.

The match remained finely balanced until the second half, when Bellingham capitalised on a long ball from Elliot Anderson, cutting in from the right and slotting past Livaković to give England the edge.

England pressed for a fourth goal, and in the 85th minute Rashford neatly finished a pass from Bukayo Saka to extend the lead.

James Agberebi

James is a sport content creator and also does analysis on sports. Also, James has covered international matches involving both Nigeria’s men and women national teams. Facebook : James Agberebi