Harry Kane missed his first penalty, then scored it – and in doing so began a night that would see him draw level with Gary Lineker as England's all-time leading World Cup scorer. His two goals, plus strikes from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford, gave England a 4-2 victory over Croatia in their opening Group L match in Dallas.
Kane's first attempt from the spot after nine minutes was saved by Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, but a retake was ordered for encroachment by Josko Gvardiol and Kane made no mistake. The crowd had barely settled when Martin Baturina curled in a superb equaliser for Croatia. Kane restored the lead just before half-time with a thumping header – a goal that prompted Gary Lineker, watching from New York with axed defender Harry Maguire and Micah Richards for his Netflix podcast 'The Rest Is Football', to shake his fist and repeatedly chant 'ten, ten, ten' as the England captain drew level on 10 World Cup goals.
“Harry Kane scored twice to equal Gary Lineker's 10 World Cup goals as England beat Croatia 4-2.”
But Croatia struck again before the break, Petar Musa levelling to make it 2-2. Thomas Tuchel's half-time rallying cry was needed. 'Do as I told you,' the manager later said of his speech. Bellingham burst through a static Croatia defence just after the restart to put England back ahead, and Rashford added a fourth with five minutes left to seal the win.
Concerns remain about England's defence, which looked porous at times, especially after the hydration break. Jordan Pickford never seemed entirely comfortable under pressure. Yet no other nation at this tournament has shown such attacking intent. 'England turned on the style,' wrote one observer. With Kane now level with Lineker and Bellingham admitting to playing with a 'chip on his shoulder', raised expectations may be the most dangerous thing of all.