Harry Kane scored twice in the first half, including a penalty kick, but England twice equalized against Croatia in the first half. World Cup opener.
The Three Lions’ latest effort to win their first title since their 1966 World Cup win got an early boost from veteran Luka Modric, who played for Croatia for the 199th time at the age of 40.
Modric fouled Noni Madueke after Croatia failed to completely clear a corner kick, and referee Clement Turpin did not hesitate to point to the penalty kick.
However, it looked as if Modric’s blushing would stop when Dominik Levakovic got down to his left to save a poor penalty from Kane.
However, the England captain was given a second chance as Josko Gvardiol’s encroachment led to Turpin ordering a replay, with the replay also pointing out that Levakovic had deviated from his line.
This time Kane made no mistake, shooting the ball into the bottom right corner to become the second English player to score in three different World Cups, having also found the back of the net in the 2018 and 2022 finals. He follows in the footsteps of David Beckham, who scored in the World Cup finals in 1998, 2002 and 2006.
But England were initially unable to build on his first goal and were punished for not doing so, as Martin Baturina equalized in impressive style.
The Como striker collected a pass from Petar Sučić and met his powerful shot which went into the net despite England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford getting the hand.
Kane restored England’s lead three minutes before the end of the first half, and Croatia paid the price for poor defence.
The Bayern Munich star was left with a free header when he met Declan Rice’s corner kick with a header to which Livakovic had no response.
But another defensive lapse from England ensured that both teams reached the level of the first half.
Ivan Perisic was given too much space to pass a long ball from Mario Pasalic forward towards Petar Musa, who left Pickford no chance to shoot the ball first time.
