Baturina and Musa score but England overwhelm Croatia 4–2

England run riot in second half, Croatia fall 4–2

That stings. Croatia opened their World Cup with a 4–2 defeat to England in Dallas on Wednesday, and the scoreline does not flatter the winners (1) (5). Your team led twice through Martin Baturina and Petar Musa, but England answered through Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers, and Marcus Rashford (1) (4). Kane scored one and set up another. Dominik Livakovic had a rough night, England put four past him and it could have been more. Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic fought, but the midfield lost control after the break.

Two sloppy goals conceded, then the floodgates opened

Wayne Rooney called the Croatian goals "two poor goals they conceded", and he was right (6). England stayed patient, kept their shape, and waited for the mistakes. Noni Madueke tormented the left side all night and Bukayo Saka caused problems off the bench (4) (6). The Opta supercomputer now gives England a 12.33% chance of winning the whole tournament after this performance (3). Your team gave them that boost.

Rice fine after early scare, Tuchel breathes easy

Declan Rice came off during the match and the Arsenal man was quick to calm nerves afterwards. "All fine, as good as gold. It's just what I have been protecting in the second half of the season with Arsenal. But it's all good, just precautionary," he said (1) (2). Thomas Tuchel confirmed there is no injury concern (1).

Commentator links Kovacic to Man United during broadcast

An odd moment during the match, commentator Sam Matterface suggested Mateo Kovacic could end up at Manchester United, calling him a priority target and hinting he and another player "might be teammates" soon (7). Nothing concrete, but the timing, mid-match at a World Cup, is unusual.

Fan-reaktioner

The mood is raw. Croatia fans are not sugarcoating the defending, Livakovic is copping heavy criticism and the midfield's second-half collapse is the main talking point. On the other side, Rashford's 85th-minute goal has United fans buzzing, with match-thread replays circulating fast across Reddit. See the Rashford goal thread.