England 4-2 Croatia - 2026 World Cup Match Report and Player Ratings

England 4-2 Croatia - 2026 World Cup Match Report and Player Ratings

England's latest bid to end six decades of World Cup heartache began beneath the bright lights of Dallas, where Group L opened with a heavyweight clash against Croatia. With anticipation at fever pitch, Thomas Tuchel's side roared through the national anthem before taking to the field, carrying the hopes of a nation desperate to see football finally come home. England were victorious in this six-goal thriller at the World Cup.

A new generation stepped into the spotlight, with six Three Lions players making their World Cup debuts, while at the opposite end of the experience scale, veteran maestro Luka Modrić led Croatia out for his fifth appearance on football's grandest stage. It was youth against experience, ambition against legacy, as two proud nations kicked off their campaigns with everything to play for.

The opening minutes were sloppy for England, who struggled to string passes together. A miscommunication between Ezri Konsa and Nico O'Reilly saw Croatia win a corner early on. Despite the corner not coming to much, Croatia continued to mount pressure on England who were slowly beginning to rise to the occasion.

England picked up momentum and won a corner. As the ball was swung in, Luka Modric committed a high boot offence on Noni Madueke and England won their first penalty of the tournament.

Harry Kane stepped up to the spot for England, with his attempt saved by Livakovic. However, a VAR intervention found that Josko Gvardiol encroached the penalty area before Kane had taken the penalty, resulting in a retake. This time round, Kane did not hold back, burying the ball into the back of the net to put the Three Lions ahead.

After scoring, Harry Kane had arrived, this time delivering a perfectly timed defence-splitting ball to Noni Madueke who burst into the box, only to have his shot deflected for a corner. England looked up for it, and as the game went on, the side's tempo rose immeasurably. Going into the first hydration break, the Three Lions were firmly in control.

The hydration break brought Croatia back into the game who began to string some nice passages of play together through Ivan Perisic. Nonetheless, the England backline stood firm, with Reece James making some important tackles.

Croatia now had their tails up, and Tuchel's side were hit on the counter-attack. Moving into the box, Petar Sucic layed off the ball to Martin Baturina who drove the ball into the back of the net with venom, putting the scores level.

Undeterred, England pushed up the field to win a corner. A perfect delivery from Declan Rice found the head of Harry Kane who bagged a brace and put England back in front.

At the death of the first half, England were caught sleeping at the back as Mario Pasalic delivered a ball into the box. Ivan Perisic cushioned a header across goal to Peter Musa who put Croatia back level before the end of the first half.

Halftime Score: England 2-2 Croatia

England came out firing. Elliot Anderson pinged a beautiful ball to Noni Madueke, yet instead it found Jude Bellingham on the far side of the box who still had a lot to do. Unphased, Bellingham drove towards goal and firmly placed the ball into the far corner of the net.

After England scored, it looked like the flood gates were beginning to open. If it wasn't for heroics from the Croation backline and Dominik Livakovic, England could have had 5 before the hour mark. England were firmly in control, playing fantatically positive football and looking like the real deal.

As the game meandered towards the final hydration break, England maintained a firm hold on the game. The team looked well drilled, utilising possession effectively. When defending, the side were calm and held their own. Ezri Konsa put in an assured display at the back throughout.

After the hydration break, Morgan Rogers, Marcus Rashford, and Bukayo Saka came off the bench for England, which suggested the side were hungry for more and not sitting back on their one-goal lead.

Croatia didn't give up the fight, and with 10 minutes to go, it was far from over. The side initiated a few nice passages of play which somewhat troubled England, but ultimately nothing punishing.

Djed Spence came off the bench and nearly made it 4 for England with one of his first touches, but the Tottenham man was denied by Livakovic.

With 5 minutes left to go on the clock, Tuchel's substitutions Saka and Rashford combined in a brilliant move. Pure footballing intelligence was on show as Saka pinged the ball across to Rashford who was in acres of space in the box. Rashford steading himself before calmly placing the ball into the bottom corner, providing England with their fourth.

Rashford had a chance to net a second with one minute to go, but his shot was blocked.

As the game drew to a close, the 100,000 fans in Dallas were drowned out by the English, who were proudly singing the national anthem.

England took care of business tonight.

Full Time Score: England 4-2 Croatia

England Player Ratings

• Jordan Pickford (6)
• Reece James (7)
• John Stones (7)
• Ezri Konsa (7)
• Nico O'Reilly (7)
• Elliot Anderson (8)
• Declan Rice (7)
• Noni Madueke (6)
• Jude Bellingham (8)
• Anthony Gordon (6)
• Harry Kane (9)
• Morgan Rogers (6)
• Bukayo Saka (7)
• Marcus Rashford (8)
• Djed Spence (6)
• Marc Guehi (6)

Croatia Player Ratings

• Dominik Livakovic (7)
• Josip Sutalo (6)
• Luka Vuskovic (6)
• Josko Gvardiol (6)
• Josip Stanisic (6)
• Luka Modric (5)
• Mario Pasalic (6)
• Ivan Perisic (7)
• Petar Sucic (7)
• Martin Baturina (7)
• Petar Musa (7)
• Mateo Kovacic (6)
• Marco Pasalic (6)
• Igor Matanovic (6)
• Andrej Kramaric (6)
• Nikola Vlasic (6)

Man Of The Match - Harry Kane

Harry Kane was fantastic today.

Kane's brace made him only the second English player to score in three seperate World Cup tournaments along with David Beckham. He also took his World Cup tally up to 10 goals, now level with England's highest ever World Cup scorer Gary Lineker.

Kane was influential both in front of goal and in terms of build up play. Tuchel has allowed Kane a new kind of freedom on the pitch, allowing him to make use of his underrated passing ability. Kane was free to drop back, receive the ball in space to link-up play.

What's more, is Kane even did his bit in defence by making a crucial goal line clearance in stoppage time.

An in-form Harry Kane is inevitable for England, but this time round, he looks more dangerous than ever before.

Bad Day In The Office - Luka Modric

Unfortunately, Luka Modric's 199th game for Croatia was not one to remember. In the first half, the 40-year old gave away a careless penalty by raising a high leg towards Noni Madueke.

Despite showing signs of class with some handy link-up play, Modrid was overran in the midfield by younger legs.

Make no mistake, we fully expect Luka Modric to bounce back in their next fixture, but today he was off the pace immensely.