Kane equals Lineker's World Cup record as England beat Croatia 4-2 in chaotic opener
Harry Kane matched Gary Lineker's England World Cup scoring record with a brace as Thomas Tuchel's side began their campaign with a 4-2 victory over Croatia, despite defensive wobbles.
First-half chaos and Harry Kane's record night
England got off to a flying start when Harry Kane converted a retaken penalty in the 12th minute after Luka Modric fouled Noni Madueke. Kane's first attempt was saved by Dominik Livakovic, but a VAR check ruled the goalkeeper had left his line too early. Kane confidently dispatched the retake. But Croatia hit back through Martin Baturina, who capitalised on a hesitant England midfield to beat Jordan Pickford in the 36th minute. Kane then restored the lead, heading in a Declan Rice corner in the 42nd minute – his 10th World Cup goal, tying Gary Lineker's England record. Just before the interval, Petar Musa pounced on an Ivan Perisic header and blasted past Pickford in the fifth minute of added time, sending the teams into the break level at 2-2.
- Kane scores retaken penalty (12')
- Baturina equalises for Croatia (36')
- Kane heads second goal, equals Lineker record (42')
- Musa equalises just before halftime (45+5')
- Bellingham scores two minutes into second half (47')
- Rashford secures victory for England (85')
Tuchel's halftime transformation
A visibly frustrated Thomas Tuchel described the first 45 minutes as "nervy" and "complicated". England assistant Anthony Barry told ITV at the break about "fearful patterns" and "nervous energy". Tuchel's message, according to Kane, was to "let the shackles off" and ask "what are we scared of?". Two minutes after the restart, Jude Bellingham raced onto an Elliot Anderson pass, sprinted half the pitch, and curled a low shot past Livakovic off the far post. England sustained heavy pressure, with Livakovic making several saves to deny Bellingham, Kane, and Nico O'Reilly, before Marcus Rashford finished a counter-attack in the 85th minute to make it 4-2.
He just told us to let the shackles off, calm down, what are we scared of? Let's just go. He kind of just said, what's the worst that can happen? We lose a match, first group game, we get on with it, we move on, let's just go and show the world who we can be.
Defensive frailties worry Tuchel
Despite the victory, England's defensive performance was a concern. John Stones started despite an injury-interrupted club season with Manchester City, and the backline was unpicked twice by Croatia's attacks. The first equaliser stemmed from a midfield hesitation, and Musa's goal exposed positional gaps. Tuchel acknowledged the "passive" first-half display, noting the team "chose to go safe and play too many balls backwards". He praised the second-half reaction as "excellent". Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic blasted his side's set-piece defending, saying "about 40% of their goals are from set pieces" and calling the performance "disastrous" in that aspect.
Milestones and reactions
Kane's brace brought his international tally to 81 and his World Cup haul to 10, matching Lineker. He also blocked a goal-bound shot in the 95th minute, a moment praised by Zlatan Ibrahimovic working as a pundit. "When you see a top player defend like he does, the sacrifice – he wants to win," Ibrahimovic said. Tuchel, after the final whistle, embraced compatriot Jurgen Klopp on the touchline. Dalic warned his Croatian team have "no right to any more mistakes" ahead of fixtures against Panama and Ghana. England next face Ghana in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Tuesday, while Croatia play Panama.
