England 4-2 Croatia: Bellingham spark and Kane brace in World Cup opener

England made a winning start to the 2026 World Cup, beating Croatia 4-2 in their Group L opener. Harry Kane scored twice in the first half — after Noni Madueke won a penalty following a foul by Luka Modric, Kane saw his original spot-kick saved by Dominik Livakovic before netting from the retake, then nodded home Declan Rice's corner.

Croatia were only level for six minutes, however, as Martin Baturina powered a shot from 20 yards past Jordan Pickford into the top corner, and Petar Musa equalised with a controlled volley with the final kick of the first half. Two minutes into the second half Jude Bellingham ran onto Elliot Anderson's pass, drove into the box and poked the ball across Livakovic into the bottom corner to put England back ahead, and Marcus Rashford later wrapped up the win after being fed by Bukayo Saka.

england, croatia, harry kane, jude bellingham, marcus rashford, bukayo saka, world cup, group l, dominik livakovic, jordan pickford