Today’s Match Highlights from FIFA World Cup 2026: Two braces from Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and strikes from Marcus Rashford helped England beat Croatia 4-2 in their 2026 FIFA World Cup opener at the Dallas Stadium. The teams were level at 2-2 at half-time with England captain Kane scoring twice, but first-half goals from Petar Musa and Martin Baturina gave Croatia a double.
But just two minutes into the second half, Jude Bellingham restored England’s lead with a brilliant strike. And then, in the final minutes of the game, Rashford put the final touch to the game with an own goal.
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How the six goals were scored: Kane scored his and England’s first goal in the 12th minute after taking two bites from the penalty spot. Kane saw his first penalty saved by Dominik Livakovic, but VAR ruled that the Croatia keeper had stepped off his line early, so the penalty was ordered to be taken back. This time, Ken made no mistake! Then, Croatia scored a stunning goal from Martin Baturina in the 36th minute, when he got a foot off the ball and sent a diving Pickford into the goal. Just minutes before half-time, England captain Kane headed the ball in to restore England’s one-goal lead. But Petar Musa scored on the last kick of the first half to tie the game 2-2. On the restart, it took just two minutes for Bellingham to strike down the right before the ball went past the keeper to score England’s third goal!
The final goal came after Rashford was met with a diagonal cross by Saka from the right. Rashford composed himself before the ball went past the goalkeeper.
The game promised a mouth-watering encounter between two European heavyweights and it did not disappoint. Croatia finished third at Qatar 2022 and lost in the final to Russia 2018. Meanwhile, England, at least by their own fans and the media, are discussed as pre-tournament favourites.
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