England put four past Croatia in Dallas on June 17, turning a halftime deadlock into a convincing 4-2 victory in their 2026 FIFA World Cup opener.
The scoreline carries historical weight. The last time England won a World Cup match 4-2 was the 1966 final against West Germany. This one came with Harry Kane, a penalty, and a second half that Croatia would rather forget.
How the match unfolded
Kane opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 12th minute. Croatia’s Martin Baturina equalized in the 36th minute. Kane restored England’s lead at 42 minutes, but the teams went into halftime level at 2-2 after Petar Musa found the net around the 50th minute mark, just after the break.
Jude Bellingham scored in the 47th minute to put England ahead 3-2. Marcus Rashford applied the finishing touch in the 85th minute, converting a late chance to make it 4-2.
