England v Croatia
Play By Play
The full-time whistle goes, and England are off to a flyer in Group L with a well-earned 4-2 victory over Croatia. The first half wasn't perfect, as they were twice pegged back despite two goals from captain Kane. The Bayern Munich ace opened the scoring from the penalty spot – on the second attempt after encroachment – only for Baturina to smash home the leveller. Kane headed England back in front, but Musa guided in the equaliser right on the stroke of half-time. But, after the break, England were absolutely superb, and Bellingham restored the lead with a drilled effort shortly after the restart. There were plenty of chances for England, whose xG of 2.8 was unsurprisingly superior to Croatia's 0.71, to extend the lead, and a fourth goal finally arrived in the 85th minute when Rashford rolled home after being picked out by Saka. On paper, this looked like England's toughest group-stage fixture, and Tuchel will be delighted they head into next Tuesday's clash against Ghana in Boston with three important points on the board. Croatia will look to rebound when they face off against Panama in Toronto. Thanks for joining us for a barnstorming clash, folks. Until next time!
FULL-TIME: ENGLAND 4-2 CROATIA
GREAT BLOCK! Croatia win a corner, which Perisic takes deep. The ball falls for Gvardiol, but Kane throws himself in front of the effort brilliantly. England then have a chance to break with Saka and Rashford, but this time they can't quite make it count.
Pasalic crosses from the right, but James makes a good defensive header to ease the danger.
There will be six minutes of additional time to play here in Dallas.
We're closing in on the final stages of what has been a barnstorming fixture. Can Croatia make things nervy? Or will England just see this out now?
Tuchel is taking no risks with Stones for the closing minutes then, as Guehi comes on for the closing stages.
Saka has made his mark off the bench, playing a lovely pass into the pass of fellow sub Rashford, who did the rest.
GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLL! RASHFORD MAKES IT 4-2! THAT'S SURELY GAME OVER NOW! It's a wonderful move from England, started by Saka, who finds Rogers. His pass actually deflects back into the path of the Arsenal man, who gets his head up to find Rashford in space on the left flank. He sits down his defender, then coolly slots into the bottom-right corner past Livakovic, a really lovely goal.
England are just sitting quite deep now, and it's inviting Croatia into some inviting positions. Kovacic now hits a daisycutter, which is on target, but held well by Pickford.
Sucic tries to dip one in after a cleared punch from Pickford, but it was never troubling the goal. At the other end, Spence gets in behind and on the slide shoots straight at Livakovic. That was a chance, that.
Bellingham gets a rousing reception as he comes off. Spence comes on in his place, which means James goes into midfield and the Tottenham man plays at full-back.
And Mario Pasalic is off for Kramaric, as Dalic looks for an impact off the bench.
Croatia's first goalscorer Baturina takes a seat as Vlasic enters the fray.
Matanovic now tries his luck with a long-ranger, but it's comfortable for Pickford.
GOOD SAVE PICKFORD! Marco Pasalic cuts in from the right and gets a left-footed drive away, but England's number one sharply pushes it to safety.
Rogers nearly makes an instant impact as he dances through a couple of Croatia defenders. His attempted pass to Saka is intercepted, though. Rashford then nearly pounces on a Stanisic back pass, but Livakovic is out quickly to snaffle the danger.
And it's a straight swap on the right flank, as the impressive Madueke is replaced by his Arsenal team-mate Saka.
Gordon has had one of his quieter games, and Rashford comes on in his place.
Tuchel is making a triple substitution here, the first one is interesting as Rice is replaced by Rogers. Does that mean Bellingham will go deeper?
And here is that hydration break. It looks like Rogers and Rashford are warming up for England, who still lead 3-2. As things stand, Opta's live win probability has England as an 84% shot to win the game, with Croatia at just 2.1%.
England have just lowered the tempo again a little bit, though in fairness, it was difficult to keep playing at the pace with which they started this half. They'll be keen to get to the hydration break and go again.
And Musa, Croatia's second goalscorer, is off for Matanovic.
Dalic makes a double change, the first of which sees Vuskovic replaced by Marco Pasalic (no relation to Mario, who is still on the pitch).
Gordon goes up against Stanisic on the left flank, but is shephered off the ball.
