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World Cup contenders England beat Croatia 4-2 in the best match of the tournament so far.
The outstanding Jude Bellingham and substitute Marcus Rashford made sure of the win with impressive second-half goals.
Croatia had earlier twice pegged England back in a seesaw first half.
First, Martin Baturina cancelled out Harry Kane’s retaken penalty with a thumping finish. Then Petar Musa levelled after Kane had struck again with a header.
Harry Kane has just been interviewed by the British broadcaster ITV.
“I thought it was a game of two halves. In the first half we were okay, but it was disappointing to concede in the way we did. Credit to the manager because he gave a good speech at half time. He said if we’re going to lose we lose in our way.”
He’s then asked what England did differently in the second half.
“Without the ball we went more aggressive. It’s difficult, they have great players. But in the second half we really went for it. Our intensity is our biggest strength and we need to use it more this tournament.”
Finally, on Jude Bellingham, he adds: “He scored a great goal. You can see the desire from him in training. The competition is high so whoever plays, they are ready. Jude was itching to get out there and what a fantastic goal.”
As well as ensuring Harry Kane stays in red-hot form, England also need to make sure Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson knit together well in midfield.
Today was their first test on the World Cup stage and they passed it with flying colours.
Anderson played a wonderful pass to Jude Bellingham for England's third goal and did a great job of protecting the defence, allowing Rice and Bellingham to kick on.
An all-action performance on World Cup debut for the 23-year-old who could be playing his football for Manchester City next season.
Just minutes after assistant coach Anthony Barry had been scathing of England’s first-half performance Jude Bellingham stepped up to retake the lead and show what Barry had wanted in the opening 45 minutes.
Bellingham’s smart angled finish, his seventh goal for his country, capped a tidy, direct England attack after Elliot Anderson’s booming ball over the top had sent the Real Madrid midfielder through.
Having big moments players matters more than anything else at major tournaments, particularly with Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi all delivering for France, Norway and Spain in the past 24 hours. Bellingham put in a real shift off the ball too, with fans cheering a tackle he made out on the touchline on 68 minutes, just before the second hydration break.
The first week of the World Cup has brought a variety of performances from the leading contenders. There were convincing wins for Argentina, Germany and, ultimately, France, but there were disappointing draws for Brazil (against Morocco) and particularly Spain (against Cape Verde) and Portugal (against DR Congo).
In that context, England fans will be delighted to get off to a winning start, showing signs of real attacking quality at times.
Even if Croatia are not the force they were when beating England in the 2018 semi-final, this was, on paper, the toughest game of the group for Tuchel’s team. Games against Ghana and Panama offer the opportunity to settle into the tournament and without the pressure that can easily build when a team start poorly.
Late in the second half, Croatia tried to push forward but England stood firm, holding on to their 4-2 lead with authority.
Their win could end up making life straightforward in Group L, which is completed by Panama and Ghana. After seeing the level of both sides here, fans of England and Croatia alike might feel they can sleep a little easier; this was widely expected to be the toughest test of the group stage.
Panama arrive with only one previous World Cup appearance, at Russia 2018. And while Ghana bring far more experience to the stage, including multiple tournament appearances and a memorable run to the quarter-finals in South Africa in 2010, they are not at the level either of these two sides demonstrated tonight.
Everyone knows that Harry Kane is going to have to play a key role if England are to enjoy success at this World Cup.
Another two goals for the 32-year-old, even if he did get a second chance to score his early penalty.
He joins the cluster of players on two goals, behind only Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.
If you subscribe to the view that the best referees go unnoticed, then Clement Turpin gave an exemplary performance.
No yellow cards, no histrionics, just a calm and authoritative display of how to officiate with quiet efficiency. Hopefully Thomas Tuchel will give him 10/10 this time — arguably the French official deserves it. Turpin would be a good tip for the final, but will only still be in the US if France are knocked out before the semi-finals, which seems unlikely.
All the England squad are now on the pitch in front of the England end, they're playing Wonderwall out of the speakers and the England players are taking it all in. Some of them look a bit emotional. Big applause at the end.
Not perfect (who expects perfection in the opening game of the World Cup?) but that was a highly enjoyable and encouraging start for England, particularly when you see how some of the leading contenders have been slow off the mark.
It reminded me of the way the started the last World Cup with a 6-2 victory over Iran: some sloppy moments, but a lot of quality. A perfectionist like Thomas Tuchel will feel there is a lot of room for improvement, but really he must be delighted by that.
With that first half penalty goal from Kane, the England captain became the player to have scored the most spot kicks in World Cup history (five, excluding shootouts).
England were largely good. Two defensive slip-ups, but lots of attacking drive. A second great game here in Dallas – 10 goals in two games!
That was more fun and more eventful than I expected. Tuchel promised bravery and speed and that was what England delivered.
It was far from perfect, there's a lot for them to work on. But it's hard to argue with that many shots. Big win in their hardest game, great position in Group L.
A second opening game win for England in as many World Cups — the first time they have managed back to back opening game wins in history.
Lovely stuff.
Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino all have teams at the top of their respective World Cup groups. As a Chelsea fan, I look forward to Liam Rosenior guiding a team to the knockouts in the 2030 World Cup.
England have won a World Cup game 4-2 for the first time since the 1966 final vs West Germany.
A good omen …?
There’s the whistle!
An emphatic England win to get their tournament up and running.
90+6’ England 4-2 Croatia
I've enjoyed watching England attack tonight. They've been direct and potent, and the use of the ball, while not always perfect, has often been smart.
The different options coming off the bench have also shown the squad’s offensive depth. True, there have been some tricky moments in defence, but England are going to be a problem with the ball for most teams they face.
90+6’ England 4-2 Croatia
Must be said, despite huge numbers of fans from both nations, the atmosphere has been a bit muted today. It was much livelier here in Dallas for Japan v Netherlands, largely thanks to the Japanese supporters (many of whom still seem to be here in Arlington, perhaps using this as their base camp as Japan's third group game is here too).
90+6’ England 4-2 Croatia
That looked destined to go in!
Gvardiol lines up a shot at goal and Kane throws himself in front of the ball to block the shot.
He looked like he landed awkwardly but he's up ok now.
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CRO
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