England got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start in the second half, with Thomas Tuchel’s side displaying their attacking brilliance in a 4-2 win over Croatia.
Looking back at Gareth Southgate’s story at Euro 2024, England’s defense was solid and their attack depended on individual inspiration, while in Texas they were tense and anxious in defense but unstoppable on the front foot.
The highlight reel will give England fans plenty of entertainment ahead of their next Group L match against Ghana on Tuesday night. Some of their defensive footage will give Tuchel sleepless nights.
Captain Harry Kane’s importance to England’s prospects was highlighted by his first-half double, which featured a re-won penalty and an expert header from Declan Rice’s good corner.
Harry Kane celebrates scoring England’s second goal.
However, Croatia overcame England twice, scoring with their first two shots led by center backs John Stones and Ezri Konsa. Martin Baturina’s hit was a bounce from the blue after Stones’ slip and England dropped too deep for Peta Musa’s well-worked second and Konsa could not prevent Ivan Perisic from nodding a chipped pass in for the goalscorer.
But since then Britain has become a different beast. It was powerful, hitting the Croatian goal. Jude Bellingham restored England’s lead two minutes into the second half when he darted down the right, cut into the box and fired into the far corner. They finished the game with 22 shots on goal.
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England fans felt all kinds of emotions as they beat Croatia 4-2 in their World Cup opener.
Goalkeeper Dominic Livakovic’s heroics kept Croatia ahead, but substitutes Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford combined for a fourth goal of the second half to mirror England’s lead.
This wasn’t a perfect start, but it felt like an important win. A second-half performance that will fuel the belief that England, with a different approach in the new era, can achieve the same or better results as they previously achieved under Southgate.
England’s Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring his team’s fourth goal against Croatia.
Tuchel was pleased with England’s response
England manager Thomas Tuchel:
“I liked the second half, everything. I liked the response to a very complex first half.
“We played against the best opposition. We showed some courage. Maybe we wanted to do it too much. But we overthought our decisions. We took too long to make them. We couldn’t find a rhythm in our game.
“We spent too much time in the lower blocks, which was not our identity. Neither lead role made us feel freer. There was an impression that we had to keep something and we were punished for it.
“But I like the reaction. We encouraged them to play more courageously, to be courageous and to be ourselves. We created a lot of chances. We won a lot of balls. We scored goals.
“Overall, I think we deserved the win. There are still things to improve. After the first game, this is very normal. We need to grow as the tournament progresses. We had a tough draw against Croatia.”
Neville: The key to England’s Bellingham and Kane
Gary Neville of Sky Sports on ITV:
“The Jude Bellingham debate is over. You can’t be disrespectful to Morgan Rodgers because he’s a great player. But Jude Bellingham is the best player. There’s a difference between him and Kane in attack.”
“The most important thing is whether we can maintain possession and take the sting out of the game with the ball. We haven’t shown that yet, but it might show in the next game.
“We didn’t let Modric dictate the game. In the past, England players would have overpowered those players. These lads don’t do that today. Anderson in particular has been targeted by the media.”
key moments
12: target! Harry Kane opened the scoring from the spot after Luka Modric kicked Noni Madueke. Kane’s first penalty was blocked, but Dominic Livakovic came off the line and Josko Gvardiol broke in for another try.
36: target! Martin Baturina sealed the match with a strike from the edge of the box.
42: target! Unmarked Kane headed in Declan Rice’s corner to restore England’s lead.
45+5: target! Petar Musa converts from close range after receiving Ivan Perisic’s headed pass.
47: target! England came flying at the start of the second half when Jude Bellingham slotted the third goal into the far corner.
56: Saved! Livakovic’s heroics denied Nico O’Reilly, Anthony Gordon and Ezri Konsa from corners as England piled on the pressure to find a fourth.
58: sub! Modric missed his 199th appearance for Croatia after struggling in midfield and conceding a penalty.
85: target! Substitutes Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford combined brilliantly to make Rashford 4-2.
90+5: Block! Kane sacrificed his body to prevent Josko Gvardiol from scoring.
What the results mean…
Analysis: Confusing and great fun.
Rob Dorsett of Sky Sports News:
It’s confusing, fascinating, and sometimes disastrous. The World Cup opener must be cautious, calm and unadventurous. This was quite the opposite.
Tuchel’s anger at England’s defensive weakness and gung-ho approach was clear, but with his words still ringing in our ears at the start of the second half, England’s strikers showed they have the firepower to hurt anyone in this tournament.
It was often like a basketball game and Tuchel will hate that England are so open. But he has nothing but applause for their attacking prowess, with Madueke and Bellingham leading the way.
Of course, it was captain Kane who took some command of the proceedings, scoring twice to equal Gary Lineker’s tally of 10 World Cup goals.
It was really fun. But Tuchel clearly has a lot of work to do.
