By Melita Jose
On Wednesday 17th June, England defeated Croatia 4-2 in their opening 2026 FIFA World Cup match at the Dallas Stadium in Texas.
The game started off badly for Croatia after Luka Modrić committed a foul in the box, which led to an early penalty for England. Harry Kane’s shot at goal was initially saved by goalkeeper Dominik Livaković, however, referee Clément Turpin ordered a retake due to Livaković stepping off the line early. Kane seized the opportunity putting England ahead with the opening goal of the match.
Not long after, Croatia hit back with Martin Baturina who scored a powerful strike from outside the box. Despite this, Kane reclaimed the lead with a phenomenal header from a corner taken by Declan Rice. The goal saw Kane equal the record set by Gary Lineker (former England striker and sports broadcaster) of 10 world cup goals, making the pair the nation’s joint highest scorers in World Cup history. Still, local Dallas MLS striker Petar Musa levelled the score again for Croatia with the final kick of the first half.
England emerged dominant in the second half, just two minutes after half time, Jude Bellingham produced a brilliantly executed solo goal, making it 3-2 to England. Marcus Rashford sealed the victory further in the 85th minute, managing to score past Livaković after an excellent combination play with Bukayo Saka.
England’s 4-2 win over Croatia was a strong start to their World Cup, with Croatia having widely been seen as England’s toughest group opponents, putting them in a good position to qualify for the knockout rounds.
England is next set to play against Ghana on Tuesday 23rd June, with the match starting at 9:00pm BST (4:00pm local time) at the Gillette Stadium (Boston Stadium) in Foxborough, Massachusetts. With England currently on three points in Group L following their 4-2 win against Croatia, and Ghana also having won their opening game 1-0 against Panama, the winner of the match to come will automatically secure a place in the knockout Round of 32.