England vs. Croatia lives up to the hype in six goal thriller

The highly anticipated group stage matchup between England and Croatia did not disappoint.

Early game drama would see the English with a strong chance just nine minutes into the match.

A Luka Modric foul on Noni Madueke inside the box immediately awarded England a penalty right out the gate.

Stepping up to attempt to send England up would be none other than Harry Kane.

However, Kane’s penalty would be thwarted, courtesy of a spectacular save by Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.

But the save may have been a bit too spectacular, following the penalty attempt, Kane would voice his concern that Livakovic came off his line early.

And after a brief VAR check, the review would side with the English captain.

Kane would step up to the spot once again and this time, he made sure to bury it.

England’s attack seemed suffocating following the Kane penalty, using solid defense to deny Croatia a true opportunity.

That was, until the 36th minute.

An unselfish pass from Petar Sucic set up Martin Baturina from just outside the box.

Baturina would strike the ball with tenacity, finding the top right corner for the equalizer.

But England would not be swayed so easily.

Just six minutes later, an English corner saw Kane drive another strike onto net.

Charging into the box, Kane would fire the header right past Livakovic and secure himself a first half brace.

The first half was on track to end with England taking their advantage to the locker room.

But Croatia had one last chance to equalize before the half.

A Mario Pasalic looping pass into the box found Ivan Perisic making a run, but Perisic would head the pass back out wide to Petar Musa.

And without missing a beat, Musa drilled the midair pass home for Croatia’s second equalizer of the half.

Coming into the second half, it took England less than 90 seconds before they would find their first scoring opportunity of the half.

Jude Bellingham would make a great run into the box, driving the length of the field before sending home a strike that found paydirt.

And England wasn’t done there.

Bellingham just a minute later would take another chance on net, this time, Livakovic managed to keep it out.

Nico O’Reilly would try his luck on net in the 50th minute but would miss wide right.

And in the 52nd minute, Declan Rice would force Livakovic into another save, knocking it out for an English corner.

Livakovic would face five shots in under two minutes as England continued to press.

But standing firm, Livakovic would save all five, miraculously keeping the deficit at one.

Croatia would continue to search for their third comeback goal.

But they just could not string together a quality attack.

After what felt like a lifetime from the last quality English push, Marcus Rashford would find himself with a golden opportunity to put the game away.

After a Bukayo Saka pass, Rashford would drive into the box.

Using some finesse, he would quickly cut back towards center before sending home the fourth for England.

And that is how the score would hold as the full-time whistle signified a dominant start for the English in the 2026 edition of the World Cup.

England and Croatia will both play their second group stage matches on Tuesday.

England will look to continue their strong start as they take on Ghana at 4 p.m.

Croatia will try and bounce back as they have Panama at 7 p.m.

About the Author Published Jun 17, 2026

ADRIAN MURILLO SILVA

Adrian Murillo Silva covers both MLB and soccer news for Ball Exclusives. He has previously worked with other news publications such as The Lantern, the independent student voice of Ohio State.