England are almost guaranteed to reach the World Cup knockout rounds after a thrilling and at times chaotic win over Croatia sent them top of Group L.The first half of England’s campaign brought four goals with Harry Kane scoring a retaken penalty and heading in from an out-swinging corner, only for Croatia to equalise each time.First Martin Baturina fired past Jordan Pickford from the edge of the box and then Petar Musa, a striker for MLS side FC Dallas playing in Dallas, finished a brilliant team move to bring it level at the break.The game continued at a frantic pace in the second half and it was England who went ahead when Jude Bellingham ran from the right, carrying the ball and found the bottom corner. Marcus Rashford came off the bench to score a fourth, while Kane appeared to be OK after grabbing his left calf towards the end.The win leaves England with a greater than 99 per cent chance of reaching the last 32, according to The Athletic’s projection model. If they win the group, they will play a third-place team from Groups E, H, I, J or K in their first knockout game in Atlanta on July 1.Here The Athletic’s Oliver Kay, Liam Tharme, Tim Spiers, James Horncastle and refereeing expert Graham Scott break down the key moments.Do England look like contenders?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.It felt a little like when England beat Iran 6-2 opening game of the last World Cup: some really encouraging some aspects, some areas for improvement, notably in defence. But Tuchel will not allow his players to relax or to feel complacent. That much was spelt out by his assistant Anthony Barry, who, in a half-time interview with ITV, said England’s players had shown “nervous energy” early on and fallen into “fearful patterns” during a “complicated and confusing first half”.Barry was right. It wasn’t perfect. But it was a highly encouraging start, particularly looking at the way some of the other leading contenders have been slow off the mark. England have hit the ground running.Oliver KayWhat difference did Bellingham make for England?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.He moved into a deeper role late in the game when Morgan Rogers came on, that positional versatility a real strength before Djed Spence replaced him on 79 minutes. So is that him cemented as England’s No 10? Perhaps not, there’s strength in depth with Rogers competing for that spot and he offers a better back-to-goal option for receiving passes, should Tuchel want a different profile. Bellingham is outstanding at breaking into space, as he showed for the goal, and duels really well too. Because England prioritise balance, it’s unlikely we see Rogers and Bellingham together from the off.Liam TharmeWhy did England get a second chance at the penalty?The early decision to award England a penalty was as easy as they come, with Luka Modric committing a careless foul on Noni Madueke, but as France discovered on Tuesday night that does not always mean that the officials reach the correct outcome. So chapeau to Clement Turpin for getting the first bit right.Modric fouls Madueke to concede the penalty (Reuters)As for the decision to order a retake after Harry Kane’s effort was saved, well, it’s two simple rules.If the kick is saved and a defender then gets involved, the kick is retaken. If an attacker enters the box too soon and affects the play, he immediately concedes a free kick. Any player who encroaches at a penalty is plain daftBeing on the line at the moment the ball is kicked counts as being inside, which many players do not know, although the replays clearly showed Josko Gvardiol well inside the area when Kane struck his penalty.Livakovic saves Kane’s first penalty but is off his line at the time (Reuters)Second, if the goalkeeper leaves his line before the shot is taken — as Dominik Livakovic did here — then, again, the kick must be retaken if it is saved.