2026 World Cup: Kane and England Send a Message to Their Rivals; Croatia Collapses in the Second Half
England defeated Croatia 4-2 in Dallas in the first match of Group K at the 2026 World Cup. The Three Lions immediately sent a message to their rivals, defeating the highly-rated Balkan team in a match full of twists and turns in the first half, which the English closed out with relative ease in the second half.
The atmosphere heated up right from the opening minutes: Modric misjudged a play and fouled Madueke in the box; Kane stepped up to take the penalty in the 11th minute but was denied by Livakovic. The Croatian goalkeeper, however, had both feet beyond the goal line before the shot, and referee Turpin, following a VAR review, ordered a retake: Kane shot again to the same side—his right—but this time the ball found the net for a 1-0 lead.
Croatia’s response came in the 36th minute: a great play by Sucic in the box set up Baturina, who unleashed an unstoppable right-footed shot from outside the box that left Pickford with no chance—he could only get a fingertip to it. It was an immediate goal for the young Como talent in his World Cup debut.
In the closing minutes of the first half, another back-and-forth exchange saw the score change twice: Kane, with a header, joined the prestigious list of players already with two goals (which includes Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland) with a precise header that made it 2-1, while in the final moments of the fifth minute of stoppage time, Petar Musa, assisted by Perisic, scores the 2-2 equalizer in the stadium where he plays for FC Dallas in Major League Soccer.
England, however, shifted into high gear for good in the second half, opening it with Bellingham’s 3-2 goal in the 47th minute: After receiving the ball from Anderson, the Real Madrid player beat Livakovic with a precise diagonal shot that once again dashed Croatia’s hopes; the team’s substitutions—Kovacic, Marco Pasalic, Matanovic, Vlasic, and Kramaric (replacing Modric, Vuskovic, Musa, Baturina, and Mario Pasalic) to change the outcome.
In fact, it was one of the substitutes sent onto the field by England’s head coach Tuchel, Marcus Rashford, who put the final nail in the coffin: the Barcelona forward—who had come on for Gordon and was set up by another player who had entered the game as a substitute, Bukayo Saka (who had replaced Madueke shortly before), found the net with a powerful and precise shot, sealing the 4-2 score that would remain unchanged until the final whistle.
