England 4-2 Croatia: Kane Brace, Bellingham Strike, Rashford Sealer

# England 4-2 Croatia: Kane's Brace, Bellingham's Strike, Rashford's Sealer — Dallas Delivers

HERE WE GO. England open their 2026 World Cup with a 4-2 victory over Croatia at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. A game that had everything — and then some.

The story: Harry Kane scored twice from the spot and a header. Croatia answered twice through Baturina and Musa. Jude Bellingham restored the lead 107 seconds after the restart. And Marcus Rashford, off the bench, sealed it in the 85th minute. Four goals. Three points. Statement made.

## The Penalty Drama

12th minute. Noni Madueke bursts into the box. Luka Modrić — thirty-nine years old, 193 caps, Croatia's greatest ever player — clips him. Penalty. Clément Turpin points to the spot.

Harry Kane steps up. Livaković saves. But wait — VAR check. The goalkeeper was off his line. Retake.

Kane doesn't miss twice. Bottom corner. 1-0 England. Ice in his veins.

## Croatia's First Answer

36th minute. Martin Baturina — the 23-year-old Dinamo Zagreb midfielder who every big club in Europe is tracking — picks up the ball 22 metres from goal. He strikes through a crowd of bodies. Jordan Pickford dives. The ball nestles in the corner. 1-1. Pure quality. Pure Baturina.

## Kane Again

42nd minute. Declan Rice delivers a corner from the right. Kane rises between two Croatian defenders — Vušković and Gvardiol, no less — and powers a header past Livaković. 2-1 England. His 10th World Cup goal. He equals Gary Lineker's England record. He becomes only the second Englishman after David Beckham to score in three different World Cups.

Kane. Captain. Record breaker. This is what he does.

## The Croatian Response — Again

45+5. First-half stoppage time. Ivan Perišić — still producing at 37 — flicks a header across the six-yard box. Petar Musa, the FC Dallas striker on his home club ground, volleys into the roof of the net. 2-2.

Four goals. Forty-five minutes. A World Cup classic unfolding in Texas.

## Bellingham's Instant Response

47th minute. Two minutes and seven seconds after the restart. Elliot Anderson — the 23-year-old Nottingham Forest midfielder on his World Cup debut — threads a pass that splits the Croatian defence. Jude Bellingham times his run perfectly, takes one touch, and slots past Livaković.

3-2 England. The winner — or so it seemed at the time.

Bellingham doesn't celebrate wildly. He turns, pumps his fist twice, and waits for his teammates. A man who expects to score on this stage. Because he does.

## Rashford Seals It

85th minute. Thomas Tuchel makes the changes — and they work. Bukayo Saka, on as a substitute, picks up the ball on the right flank and drives at the Croatian defence. He cuts inside, spots Rashford's run, and slides a pass into the box. Marcus Rashford — the Manchester United forward who fought his way back into this England squad — takes one touch and buries it past Livaković.

4-2 England. Game over. Statement delivered.

## Why It Matters

England take three points from their Group L opener with a performance that mixed defensive vulnerability and attacking firepower in equal measure. Twenty-two shots, eleven on target. Croatia — semi-finalists in 2022, finalists in 2018 — were never out of the contest but never truly in control either.

Tuchel's 4-2-3-1 created chances. Dalić's 3-4-3 created problems. But England's depth — Saka and Rashford off the bench, both involved in the fourth goal — was the difference.

The human story: Harry Kane, 31, two goals, equalling Lineker's record, making history in his third World Cup scoring appearance. Jude Bellingham, 22, deciding a World Cup match with the casual authority of a man born for this stage. Marcus Rashford, 28, coming off the bench to put the result beyond doubt. Three generations of English football, delivering on the same night.

England face Ghana next. Croatia meet Panama. Group L is just getting started.

Full time: England 4, Croatia 2. Here we go.