England stormed to a 4-2 victory over Croatia in their opening World Cup 2026 match in Dallas after manager Thomas Tuchel’s half-time speech inspired the Three Lions to a thumping win. England were a little shaky in the first half and were twice pegged back by Croatia after two goals from Harry Kane. At half-time, assistant coach Anthony Barry ripped into a “complicated and confusing” performance and Tuchel also had stern words for his players at the break. It brought an immediate reaction and a third goal thanks to Jude Bellingham, who was too powerful down the right as he fired England ahead. Tuchel’s side were also dominant in the opening spell of the second half, with Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic preventing a huge scoreline. England then flexed their strength and depth, with substitutes Bukayo Saka combining with Marcus Rashford to provide breathing room with a fourth handing them a two-goal cushion to cap an impressive display and victory.“Credit to the manager, he gave us a speech at half-time and said if we lose, we lose in our way and I think we saw that in the way we came out in the second half,” England captain Kane said. “We went full gas and they couldn't live with it.”Follow all the reaction from Dallas below:When is England's next World Cup game?England play Ghana on Tuesday 23 June. It will be played at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the home of the New England Patriots and outside of Boston. Kick-off is 4pm local time, which is 9pm BST (UK time). It will be shown in the UK on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website. England’s World Cup fixtures June 17: England 4-2 Croatia | AT&T Stadium, ArlingtonJune 23: England v Ghana | Gillette Stadium, Foxborough – 4pm ET / 9pm BSTJune 27: England v Panama | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford – 5pm ET / 10pm BSTWill Castle18 June 2026 08:32Bellingham and the chip on his shoulderEngland midfielder Jude Bellingham believes playing with a “chip on my shoulder” will bring the best out of him at the World Cup.“For me personally, it was nice to put some of the noise aside and just show my country and my team-mates how committed I am to help us try to win football matches,” he told BBC Sport.“It was a great team performance. Second half, we got things right, first half we got the intensity right, but not quite with the ball and second half we put it all together nicely.“To contribute, to help my team and help my country is one of the biggest honours and regardless of the noise outside, that honour doesn’t change for me at all.“It has been a tough season for me but I am feeling fresh and sharp and stronger.“I have got a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. That helps me a lot to find that focus early in the game and to find that intensity.“I know that it’s part of being a footballer and I don’t hold a grudge against anyone who says bad things about me because sometimes I do deserve it.“Today, it was nice to try to show people and remind people what I’m about.”Jude Bellingham celebrates after scoring England's third goal (Reuters)Will Castle18 June 2026 08:24How the Golden Boot race looks after round one1. Lionel Messi, (Argentina), three goals = 2 Harry Kane (England), two goals = 2 Erling Haaland (Norway), two goals= 2 Kylian Mbappe (France), two goals= 2 Folarin Balogun (USA), two goals= 2 Elijaj Just (New Zealand), two goals= 2 Kai Havertz (Germany), two goals=2 Yasin Ayari (Sweden), two goalsEngland’s Harry Kane celebrates scoring their side’s second goal of the game (PA) (PA Wire)Will Castle18 June 2026 08:16World Cup commentator ‘dripping with blood’ after being hit by projectile at Uzbekistan v ColombiaWarren Barton was left “dripping with blood” after being hit by an apparent beer bottle during his World Cup 2026 commentary duties in Colombia’s 3-1 win over Uzbekistan.Barton was at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City to team up with Jacqui Oatley during the Fox broadcast.The wild atmosphere saw both commentators drenched with beer in the first half after Daniel Munoz broke the deadlock for Colombia.And the wild scenes continued in the second half when Barton appeared to be hit by a projectile in the closing stages of the contest, though the former Newcastle and Wimbledon player persevered with the commentary to the end, which saw a frantic finale, including Jaminton Campaz’s stoppage time strike.Will Castle18 June 2026 08:08Inside the England dressing room and Thomas Tuchel’s team-talk that sparked World Cup win over CroatiaThomas Tuchel didn’t scream and shout at his players at half-time, although he must have resisted a mighty urge after watching them twice squander the lead against Croatia in their World Cup opener in Dallas. England went out of their way to help their opponents back into the game, parting like the Red Sea for Croatia’s first and standing like statues as the second unfolded around them.“We took the decision to go backwards on and off the ball, so we played way too many balls backwards,” Tuchel later explained. “We played way too many balls back to our goalkeeper. We didn’t dare to eliminate, we didn’t dare to play through the gaps.”Instead of ranting and raving, Tuchel allowed for a few moments of calm before sitting down to be at eye-level with his players.Lawrence Ostlere in Dallas18 June 2026 08:00Will Castle18 June 2026 07:45Fifa responds to reports of fans getting into England v Croatia without a ticketReports, citing eyewitnesses at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, said scores of fans had breached security and entered the venue without any sort of check.One witness told Mail Sport: “There were big gaps at the side of the ticket barriers and people just strolled through. There were volunteers who were basically old ladies and they weren’t stopping anyone.”A spokesperson for Fifa said: “At this stage, we have no indication of fans entering the stadium without a valid match ticket for the game in question.”Will Castle18 June 2026 07:30Thomas Tuchel urges Fifa to intervene after England national anthem ‘ruined’Thomas Tuchel has called on Fifa to intervene after complaining that photographers “ruined” what was an “emotional moment” of his first England national anthem at a World Cup."I have to tell you something, I am begging Fifa to change the position of the photographers in the national anthem because I could not see my team in the national anthem," he said."I was waiting for this moment. It was a very, very special moment today and I was standing in front of a wall of 50 photographers, half a metre away, and I could not see one single player. It ruined a little bit my experience.“It is very emotional. When I was young and when I started coaching, this was too big to dream of this kind of occasion."Will Castle18 June 2026 07:15Harry Kane reveals what Thomas Tuchel said to England players at half-time: ‘If we lose, we lose’England were pegged back twice in the first-half in Dallas, with Tuchel’s assistant Anthony Barry criticising the players in an interview with ITV at half-time, describing their display as “complicated and confusing.”Yet the Three Lions came out in the second-half a team reinvigorated. Jude Bellingham put them back in front with a wonderful solo goal and Tuchel’s side could have been out of sight if it wasn’t for the brilliance of Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.Kieran Jackson18 June 2026 07:00Thomas Tuchel gives Declan Rice injury update after England’s World Cup win over CroatiaDeclan Rice is a minor injury concern for England following their opening win against Croatia.But there was some concern when Rice left the field in the second half, having been seen clutching the top of his right leg. Tuchel replaced him with Morgan Rogers and dropped Bellingham back into a deeper role, before later moving Reece James into midfield.Lawrence Ostlere in Dallas18 June 2026 06:42