England sees off Croatia 4-2 in World Cup Group L opener behind Kane and Bellingham goals
Harry Kane scored twice and Jude Bellingham added a third just after the break as England began its World Cup 2026 campaign with a 4-2 win over Croatia in Arlington, Texas.
England opened its World Cup 2026 account with a six-goal victory over Croatia in Group L, overcoming a chaotic pre-tournament build-up and two Croatian equalisers. The 4-2 result at AT&T Stadium puts England top of the group ahead of Ghana's meeting with Panama.
A chaotic build-up
England's arrival in the United States had been marked by a string of off-field incidents. A shooting near the team hotel in Kansas City left nine wounded, a magnitude-6.1 earthquake was felt in Florida for the first time since 1880 while the squad was there, and equipment including boots, kit and balls was stolen from a van. The team chef was barred from carrying kitchen knives on a train journey, many players suffered sunburn amid high temperatures, and a tornado warning forced the entire party to seek shelter. Manager Thomas Tuchel was fielding questions about the team's mood rather than tactics on the eve of the match.
The match
Once play began, England seized the initiative early when Luka Modric caught Noni Madueke in the box and referee Clément Turpin pointed to the spot. Harry Kane's initial penalty was saved by Dominik Livakovic, but the goalkeeper had stepped off his line and Kane converted the retake in the 12th minute. Croatia responded with a brilliant equaliser: Sučić sat down a defender before teeing up Martin Baturina, whose first-time curling shot flew into the top corner beyond Jordan Pickford in the 36th minute. England regained the lead six minutes later when Declan Rice's corner found Kane, who headed home from close range. Yet Croatia struck again deep in first-half stoppage time, Iván Perišić heading down for Petar Musa to fire in his first World Cup goal and make it 2-2.
Qatar was the best international tournament I've played in. It felt like we didn't have starters and substitutes, there was no hierarchy. I think at Euro 2024 we made some mistakes off the pitch. The group wasn't as well connected as it could have been, for various reasons. We weren't playing particularly well, which didn't help. Even when we won we didn't have that feeling of happiness we should have had.
Second-half surge
Tuchel's half-time words had an immediate effect. Barely 90 seconds after the restart, Bellingham carried the ball down the right wing, drove into the box and unleashed a shot that restored England's advantage. Marcus Rashford, introduced as a substitute, sealed the win five minutes from time with a solo run through the Croatian defence to make it 4-2.
Kane's records
Kane's double took him to 81 goals for England and 10 in World Cup finals, drawing level with Gary Lineker on the latter list, half of them penalties. He also won his 115th cap, matching David Beckham in third place on England's all-time appearances chart, ten behind Peter Shilton and five short of Wayne Rooney.
What's next
England face Ghana on 23 June, followed by Panama on 27 June. Croatia must regroup before its second group fixture after a night on which its resilience was undone by defensive lapses and England's clinical finishing.
