Six-goal spectacle in Dallas: Kane and Bellingham break Croatia

(Patria) - England opened their World Cup campaign with a victory after a spectacular first-round match against Croatia, winning 4:2.

Spectators in Dallas enjoyed brilliant football, six goals and a large number of chances, and in the end the Three Lions justified their role as favourites.

From the very start, England imposed a high tempo and clearly showed they wanted to control events on the pitch. Croatia threatened mostly from set pieces, while England found it much easier to reach the final third.

The first major moment of the match came in the ninth minute when referee Clement Turpin awarded a penalty after a foul by Luka Modrić in the box.

Harry Kane's first attempt from the spot was stopped by an excellent intervention from Dominik Livaković, but the penalty was retaken due to an early entry by a player into the area. On the second attempt, the England captain was sure and scored to give his team the lead.

Croatia did not give up even after the early deficit. Petar Musa had a great chance to equalise in the 14th minute, but his shot was blocked at the last moment by the English defence.

The reward for good play came in the 36th minute when Martin Baturina brilliantly finished a nice move by the Vatreni, firing a powerful shot to make it 1:1 and bring his team back into the match.

However, England regained the lead before the end of the first half. After a corner from Declan Rice in the 42nd minute, Harry Kane rose highest and headed in his second goal of the match to make it 2:1.

Just when it seemed England would go into the break with a minimal lead, Croatia showed character once again. Ivan Perišić headed the ball down in front of goal, and Petar Musa reacted best to score in the fifth minute of stoppage time, making it 2:2.

However, the second half began in the worst possible way for the Croatian national team. Already in the 47th minute, Jude Bellingham broke through the Croatian defence with a brilliant solo run and beat Livaković with a precise shot off the post for a new England lead of 3:2.

From that moment on, England took complete control of the match. Bellingham, Rice, Gordon and Kane constantly caused problems for the Croatian defence, while Livaković kept his team in the game with several top-class saves.

He particularly stood out in the 56th and 57th minutes when he stopped attempts by Anthony Gordon, Nico O'Reilly and Harry Kane in quick succession, preventing England from settling the match earlier.

Zlatko Dalić tried to change the course of the match with numerous substitutions. Mateo Kovačić, Igor Matanović, Marco Pašalić, Andrej Kramarić and Nikola Vlašić came on, but despite several good attempts, Croatia could not find a way to another equaliser. Marco Pašalić and Igor Matanović came closest to scoring, but Jordan Pickford reacted excellently on both occasions to keep England's goal intact.

The final blow for Croatia came from substitute Marcus Rashford in the 85th minute. Bukayo Saka provided an excellent assist after a quick move, and Rashford routinely scored from close range for the final 4:2, confirming a deserved victory for his team.

The statistics speak volumes about the balance of power on the pitch. England fired no fewer than 18 shots towards the Croatian goal compared to just four from their opponents, created significantly more chances and were a more concrete and dangerous rival for most of the match.