England thump Croatia 4-2 and start World Cup campaign with vital win

England got off to winning ways in the World Cup, turning up the heat to thump Croatia 4-2 in an entertaining opener.The Three Lions took the lead twice in the first half, both thanks to Harry Kane, but were answered back through goals from Martin Baturina and Petar Musa.Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford's second-half strikes were enough for England to pick up all three points in Group L and defeat their C.The Three Lions weathered a double Croatian set-back to dominate the second half, with plenty of positives to take from their opening performance.England started the contest with the majority of the ball - at points, it seemed like everyone in white was keen to get a touch on the ball.The Three Lions eventually moved the ball deeper into Croatia's half and started to cause problems.Noni Madueke, a surprise selection by Thomas Tuchel, beat Luka Modric to the ball and was brought down inside the area for a penalty to England.Kane stepped up, having his effort saved, but Josko Gvadiol encroached inside the penalty area, and Dominik Livakovic stepped off his line, leading to the spotkick being retaken.LATEST SPORTS NEWSWorld Cup day seven: England beat Croatia in Three Lions tournament openerLigue 1 manager dies aged 58 as family issues statementThomas Tuchel will only sing England national anthem on one condition ahead of Croatia openerNo messing about this time. Kane smashed it past Livakovic to give England an early advantage.On the half-hour mark, it was Madueke again who caused problems after being handed a perfectly-weighted ball to run onto.The Arsenal winger delivered a wicked ball in, which Bellingham raced onto - though the Real Madrid star couldn't make contact.Despite the pressure from the Three Lions, Croatia found a response, coming from Martin Baturina.The Como midfielder was handed the ball on the edge of the penalty area and hit a brilliant right-footed strike into the top-left corner past Jordan Pickford.His celebrations were short-lived, though, as captain Kane stepped up again, rising from a corner to head past Livakovic.A stunning header from a player at the peak of his power was enough to see the Croats off just before half-time - or so the Three Lions faithful thought.Then seven minutes later, Croatia were laughing again as Petar Musa slotted past Pickford, and the two sides headed in at half-time all square.England came out for the second half like a house on fire, with Bellingham scoring inside the first two minutes.The youngster broke away down the right-hand side and finished superbly into the bottom left corner. A stunning goal by a talented player.Livakovic was called into action numerous times at the beginning of the second half, with whatever Tuchel was telling his players having a huge impact.The German made some big changes in the second half, taking off both Declan Rice and Bellingham and shuffling the midfield to move Reece James inside.The moves worked as substitutes Bukayo Saka and Rashford combined, with the latter finishing superbly into the bottom right corner.England saw out the six minutes of stoppage time, as the Three Lions got their World Cup campaign off to winning ways.Not the easiest of opponents for England to see off, but they found a way.Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter