England Open World Cup Account With Croatia Win

England got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start as they beat Croatia 4-2 in Dallas.

The Three Lions were ahead inside 12 minutes when Harry Kane scored from the penalty spot at the second time of asking, after his initially saved spot-kick was retaken, following encroachment in the box.

But against the run of play, Croatia levelled through an excellent Martin Baturina strike from distance, sparking a sequence of three goals in 14 minutes before half-time.

Next, Kane thumped home a header from a Declan Ricer corner, before FC Dallas striker Petar Musa - playing in his club stadium - tucked the ball away following Ivan Perisic’s knockdown.

But England took control in the second half and regained the lead almost immediately, with Jude Bellingham holding off the Croatia defence to rifle home a finish in the bottom corner to restore a deserved advantage.

And after several missed opportunities, England made their first three points safe late on, as substitute Marcus Rashford cut inside and slotted home to give Thomas Tuchel’s side the spoils.

The other match in Group L saw Ghana face Panama in the midnight kick-off, and in a game of few opportunities, the Black Stars struck late in injury time through Caleb Yirenkyi to deny the Panamanians their first-ever World Cup point.

England face Ghana next up in Boston next Tuesday, while Panama remain in Toronto to face Croatia a few hours later in the midnight kick-off on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the final match overnight saw World Cup debutants Uzbekistan beaten 3-1 by Colombia in their Group K clash.

Crystal Palace defender Daniel Munoz put the Colombians ahead just before half-time, but they were stunned on the hour mark when Abbosbek Fayzullaev levelled.

But the South Americans regained their lead just five minutes later through Bayern Munich’s Luis Diaz, before a Jaminton Campaz header late on added some extra gloss to the scoreline.