England vs Croatia live: score, team news, analysis from Fifa World Cup 2026
England secured a 4-2 victory over Croatia in their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, following a motivational half-time speech by manager Thomas Tuchel. Despite conceding the lead twice, England dominated the second half with goals from Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Marcus Rashford.
Why it matters
The World Cup is the most-watched sporting event globally, and England's performance is a major focus for international sports media.
Football World Cup England vs Croatia World Cup 2026 group L — as it happened Catch up with updates analysis as Thomas Tuchel’s side begin group L campaign with 4-2 win over Croatia at Dallas Stadium Matt Lawton , Chief Sports Correspondent, Arlington , Jonathan Northcroft , Chief Football Correspondent, Arlington , Hamzah Khalique-Loonat , Arlington , David Brown , Chief News Correspondent, Arlington , Lara Wildenberg , , and Hassan Rashed Thursday June 18 2026, 12.38am BST , The Times Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save Tuchel’s words at half-time inspired a superb second-half display Alex Pantling FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images What you need to know England begin group L campaign with 4-2 win over Croatia — read Jonathan Northcroft’s report Thomas Tuchel’s half-time speech inspires players to ‘take off shackles’ Harry Kane gives England lead with retaken penalty after first effort saved Martin Baturina brings Croatia level before Kane’s header restores England’s lead Petar Musa equalises for Croatia again just before half-time Jude Bellingham scores England’s third moments after restart and Rashford makes it 4-2 Our correspondent has run-in with a driverless taxi Tino Livramento out of World Cup and replaced by Trevoh Chalobah Match Centre: Scores, fixtures and group standings Show Details 6 hours ago 12:28am June 18 Tuchel inspires players to take off shackles with half-time speech Matt Lawton , Chief Sports Correspondent, Arlington Thomas Tuchel tore into his England players at half-time in Dallas, sparking a superb second-half display that secured a vitally important 4-2 victory in their World Cup opener against Croatia (Matt Lawton writes).
The report focuses on match events and quotes from the manager and players.
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