England beats Croatia 4-2 in World Cup opener
England defeated Croatia 4-2 in their first match of the World Cup finals on Wednesday. Harry Kane scored twice, while Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford added one each.
England's men's football team beat Croatia 4-2 (2-2) in their opening match of the World Cup finals on Wednesday. Harry Kane scored two goals for England, with Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford adding one each. Kane has now scored 81 goals for his country, ten of them in World Cups, tying Gary Lineker's record. Martin Baturina and Petar Musa scored for Croatia.
In the ninth minute, Luka Modric fouled Noni Madueke in the box, earning a penalty for England. Dominik Livakovic saved Kane's initial spot kick, but the referee ordered a retake because the goalkeeper had left his line. Kane made no mistake with his second attempt, putting England ahead 1-0 in the 12th minute.
In the 36th minute, Petar Sucic set up Baturina, who fired home from the edge of the box to equalize. England quickly regained the lead when Kane headed home from Declan Rice's corner in the 42nd minute.
Deep into first-half stoppage time, Ivan Perisic headed Mario Pasalic's pass to Musa, who beat Jordan Pickford to make it 2-2.
Just two minutes into the second half, Bellingham scored after a swift attack following a pass from Elliot Anderson, putting England 3-2 ahead. England had several chances to extend their lead, but Livakovic made a number of saves to keep Croatia in the game.
Croatia pushed for an equalizer, but in the 85th minute, Marcus Rashford scored after a pass from Bukayo Saka, making it 4-2. In stoppage time, Kane blocked a close-range shot on the goalline to preserve England's win.
In other Group L action, Ghana will face Panama in Toronto at 1 a.m. Latvian time.
This is the first World Cup finals with 48 teams, hosted by Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The teams are divided into 12 groups of four. The top two from each group and the eight best third-placed teams will advance to the knockout stage.
The group stage will end on June 27, with knockout matches starting the following day. The semifinals are scheduled for July 14 and 15, the third-place match on July 18, and the final on July 19. Argentina won the previous World Cup in 2022, beating France on penalties.
