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:
The England change that dispatched Croatia to fulfil Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup promise
Jude Bellingham looked like he can fulfil all that talent, but Thomas Tuchel has already fulfilled one promise. The England manager had promised that an occasion like this World Cup 2026 match would “bring out the best in us”, but it may have done even more than that.
It may well have been the country’s best spell of tournament football in decades, and perhaps the most convincing victory in some time. This ended up 4-2 but it could genuinely have been 7-2 from the 10 minutes after half-time alone. Croatia barely knew where to turn, let alone where to look.
Thomas 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.”
Harry 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.
Thomas Tuchel gives Declan Rice injury update after England’s World Cup win over Croatia
Declan 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.
When is England’s next World Cup game and what do they need to reach the knockouts?
The Three Lions entered the 48-team tournament as one of the favourites following an unbeaten qualifying campaign and after a prolific season from captain and top striker Harry Kane.
As well as Croatia, England will face Ghana and Panama in the group stages but will be plotting a much deeper run at the tournament as they seek to win a second men’s international tournament following runners-up finishes at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.
England player ratings vs Croatia: Who impressed in World Cup opener?
England were given a half-time shake-up by Thomas Tuchel as they overcame Croatia to win their opening match of the World Cup.
Harry Kane struck twice and Jude Bellingham scored the third moments after the restart. Tuchel then turned to the bench, with Bukayo Saka setting up Marcus Rashford as the Three Lions took charge of Group L thanks to a thrilling 4-2 win.
England’s defence and parts of their midfield were far from convincing, but in captain Kane and Bellingham it’s clear Tuchel has two match-winners who could make the difference this summer.
Here’s how the England players rated after the 4-2 win over Croatia
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10 men and a statue: Portugal are sacrificing another World Cup for Cristiano Ronaldo’s ego
A piece on the other big story from yesterday, on a poor day for Ronaldo and Portugal…
Comment: Ronaldo’s goalless display against DR Congo is the latest warning for Roberto Martinez, writes Richard Jolly, though there is little sign that the Portugal manager will take the decision to remove the 41-year-old for the sake of the team
England assistant Anthony Barry critical of first-half display against Croatia in punchy ITV interview
England assistant coach Anthony Barry was critical of his side’s first-half display against Croatia, saying it was a “complicated and confusing” opening 45 minutes.
Harry Kane gave England the lead twice in Dallas, first through a re-taken penalty and second through a well-placed header, but Croatia pegged the Three Lions back on both occasions as their defending was found wanting.
Barry, who is Thomas Tuchel’s trusted assistant and was with him at Bayern Munich, then gave a punchy interview to ITV before heading into the dressing room to speak to the players.
The real reason why England must top their World Cup group
We can try, of course. Theoretically, there should be a material benefit in topping each group. Group winners will be rewarded in one of two ways by Fifa’s new 48-team format: either they will get to play one of the eight third-placed finishers in the round of the 32; or they will meet a second-placed finisher but then avoid facing any other group winners until the quarter-finals at the earliest.
For England – on paper, at least – winning Group L would seem advantageous in progressing deep into the tournament. They would be paired with one of the third-placed finishers in the round of 32, teams who are likely to have picked up only three or four points during the group stage.
