England made a spectacular debut at the 2026 World Cup. At the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, the Three Lions defeated Croatia 4-2 in a match filled with emotions during the first round of Group L. Harry Kane was the standout performer with a brace that allowed him to equal Gary Lineker as England's all-time top scorer in World Cup history, with 10 goals.

Match Development

The match began with a clear opportunity for England. At the 8-minute mark, Luka Modrić committed a penalty on Madueke. Goalkeeper Dominik Livaković saved Kane's first attempt, but VAR detected that the goalkeeper had moved off his line early. On the retake, Kane made no mistake and put England ahead 1-0.

Croatia responded and equalized in the 35th minute with a brilliant goal from Martin Baturina, who finished with a cross-angle shot following a collective play. However, England regained the lead before halftime: Kane appeared alone at a corner kick and headed in the 2-1 in the 41st minute.

The Second Half Belonged to England

The team managed by Thomas Tuchel came out determined after the break. Just three minutes into the restart, Jude Bellingham collected the ball on the right wing, drove into the area, and fired across goal for the 3-2 lead.

From that moment, England controlled the match. Croatian goalkeeper Livaković made several important saves, but could not prevent the fourth goal. In the 84th minute, Marcus Rashford came off the bench, cut inside the area, and finished clinically to seal the 4-2 victory.

Group L Standings

With this victory, England leads Group L with 3 points and a goal difference of +2. Croatia sits at the bottom without points. Ghana, who defeated Panama 1-0 with a dramatic late goal from Caleb Yirenkyi in the 95th minute, occupies second place.

Source: Infobae