England and Croatia kicked off Group L of the 2026 FIFA World Cup today at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, in an absolute rollercoaster of a match. England took 3 points with a 4-2 win.

Over 70,000 were in attendance for this opening match.

Lineups

ENGLAND: Pickford, James, Konsa, Stones, O’Reilly, Anderson, Rice, Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon, Kane

CROATIA: Livaković, Šutalo, Vušković, Gvardiol, Stanišić, Modrić, Mario Pašalić, Perišić, P. Sučić, Baturina, Musa

Match Report

Croatia set the tone early, pressing from the first whistle, and Šutalo had the game’s first sight of goal from a corner in the 3rd minute.

England responded with a dangerous attack of their own in the 8th minute, earning them a corner. As Croatia’s defence scrambled to clear, Modrić was whistled for a foul inside the box, and the referee pointed to the spot. Kane stepped up — and Livaković guessed right, getting down to save it. But VAR intervened, ruling that Gvardiol stepped off his line too early, and the penalty was ordered to be retaken. Kane made no mistake the second time, slotting home to put England 1-0 up.

Croatia threatened with a move in the 15th minute that ultimately went out for a goal kick, while England came close to doubling their lead in the 21st minute, breaking almost one-on-one with Livaković before Croatia’s defence scrambled back to snuff out the danger.

But Croatia were not to be denied for long. A brilliant piece of trickery from Petar Sučić inside England’s box in the 36th minute carved out space for Baturina, who buried the chance into the top left corner to make it 1-1.

The half was far from done, however. England regained the lead almost immediately when Kane was left completely unmarked at a corner and headed home to put his side 2-1 up. But Croatia struck right back before the break. Pašalić found Perišić’s head at the top of the box, who nodded it on for Musa to finish and send the sides in level at 2-2 at half-time.

There were no changes at the break, but it was England who came flying out of the blocks in the second half. Bellingham raced down the right and finished into the far corner in the 47th minute to restore England’s lead at 3-2, and almost made it four just a minute later.

Livaković produced a brilliant save in the 52nd minute to keep Croatia in it, forcing a corner, before Perišić had to clear another dangerous ball off the line moments later. The Croatia keeper was called into action again in the 56th minute as England’s pressure showed no signs of letting up.

Croatia made a change in the 58th minute, withdrawing captain Luka Modrić for Kovačić on what was proving to be a difficult afternoon. By the 60th minute, England had racked up 18 attempts on goal to Croatia’s 4.

Dalić made two more subs in the 66th minute – Vušković came off for Marco Pašalić and Musa for Igor Matanović.

Marco Pašalić had a chance on goal in the 76th minute, forcing a save from Pickford. Matanović also tried his luck a minute later, but shot soft straight at the England keeper.

Two more subs in the 78th minute – Pašalić came off for Kramarić and Baturina for Vlašić. Dalić was hoping to get some fresh legs in the mix. England subbed off Bellingham as well.

Petar Sučić struck from outside the box in the 80th, but his shot went just over the goal.

But then England capitalized on a counterattack, leaving Rashford one-on-one with Stanišić. Rashford faked and found the right corner for 4-2 in the 85th minute. Six minutes of extra time were added. The match ended 4-2 for England.

Croatia plays Panama next in Toronto – 7 pm local time on Tuesday, June 23rd.

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