Kane and Bellingham put on a show in England's thr...
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- England opened Group L with a 4-2 win over Croatia in Dallas, conceding twice in a chaotic first half before pulling away after the break through goals from Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford.
- Harry Kane scored twice — a retaken 12th-minute penalty (after his first was saved, only for the referee to order a retake for Livakovic encroachment) and a 42nd-minute header — and added a key late block on Josko Gvardiol to preserve England's two-goal lead.
- Jude Bellingham justified Thomas Tuchel's selection over Morgan Rogers at No. 10 with a 47th-minute winner, driving past Mario Pasalic before finishing low into the far post off Elliot Anderson's pass.
- Marcus Rashford came off the bench to curl in England's fourth with five minutes remaining, assisted by fellow sub Bukayo Saka, with both introductions made in the second half as Tuchel refreshed the attack.
- Thomas Tuchel's halftime adjustments — pushing higher, shortening the spaces between players — transformed England's performance after assistant Anthony Barry called the first half "complicated and confusing" and admitted they played long when they should have played short.
- Luka Modric became the third outfield player over 40 to appear in a World Cup (after Cristiano Ronaldo) but was substituted at 57 minutes following a quiet display, with England hounding him to prevent Croatia from building out from the back.
- Dominik Livakovic finished with six saves including a stunning five-save spell, and kept out Kane's first penalty before it was ordered retaken for his encroachment off the line — a reminder of the 2022 World Cup shootout heroics that will keep him central to Croatia's tournament.
Why it matters: Tuchel's second-half adjustments and Bellingham's decisive goal came after a first half that exposed defensive vulnerabilities — Marc Guéhi's omission from the starting XI will fuel selection debate. Croatia are ranked 11th, not top 10, so England still need a signature scalp, but the Kane-Bellingham axis and an effective Rashford-Saka substitution pattern give Tuchel attacking depth to rotate as the tournament progresses.
