England got the better of Croatia, with a 4-2 victory in the first European classic of the World Cup, played at the AT&T Stadium, in the city of Dallas (United States). The Three Lions - the British team's nickname - showed determination on the field to seek their second world title, after a 60-year absence. In the opening game of Group L of the World Cup, striker Hary Kane found the net twice for the British and became the country's top scorer, alongside Gary Lineker, with 10 goals. Bellinghan and Rashford completed the scoring for the Three Lions, while Baturina and Musa scored for the Croatians, the Chessmen (nickname in reference to the uniform). Three points for the Three Lions June 17, 2026 Related news: Neymar returns to training with the team 2 days before the game against Haiti. Portugal and DR Congo draw; Congolese score first goal in World Cups. Haaland shines and Norway defeats Iraq in their return to the World Cup. Croatia started to put pressure on the English to get the ball out, but it didn't last long. The Three Lions bet on quick counterattacks from the right. And in the 8th minute, after a corner kick, Modric came forward to cut the ball, but ended up hitting Madueke, the son of Nigerians born in England. After a VAR review, the referee awarded a penalty in favor of the English. Shirt 9 Harry Kane took the shot twice: the first time, goalkeeper Livakovic saved, but VAR identified that the Croatian goalkeeper did not keep one of his feet on the line, as required by the rule. The referee ordered a repeat, and Kane opened the score with a strong shot, to the right of Livakovic, who fell to the other side.  Muse and  The goal motivated the English even more, who mounted dangerous counterattacks. In one of them, in the 20th minute, Kane gave Bellingham a pass to take the ball into the box, but goalkeeper Livcokovic stepped up and saved. In the 35th minute, Croatia stole the ball near the middle and started the equalizer. After lifting in the area, Sucic rolled the ball to Baturina to leave everything equal in Dallas: 1 to 1. But there wasn't even time to celebrate: six minutes later, the Three Lions took the lead again with a goal from a dead ball. In a rehearsed play, Rice took a corner just enough for Kane to head it in, as he came up alone from behind. And those who were already waiting for the game to break saw Croatia score another equalizer in the last minute of the game, after Pasalic threw a ball into the penalty area for Perisic, who set up Musa to score a great goal. Starting strong! 💪 pic.twitter.com/iytFvfNbUr June 17, 2026 In the second half, in the first minute, the English led the score again. The play started with Elliot Anderson, who threw to the right for Bellingham. The striker started, invaded the area and shot a cross into the back of the net, extending the British lead to 3-1. From then on, total pressure on the Croatian field. In the 3rd minute, after a corner, full-back O’Reilly heads free towards the goal, but the ball goes out. Six minutes later, O’Reilly again tries to score with a header, but Livakovic avoids it, but gets the rebound and makes another incredible save. England suffocates Croatia and makes Livakoviv shine again in the 11th minute, when he catches a shot from Harry Kane inside the area. After the hydration stop, the Croatians reacted. In the 30th minute, Marco Pasalic sent a rocket into the goal, but goalkeeper Pickford sent it wide. In the next minute, it was Matanovic's turn to send a dangerous ball, and again the British goalkeeper made a great save. It really was a Three Lions night. In the 39th minute, the English sealed the 4-2 victory, with a beautiful play started by striker Saka on the right side. He gets rid of the marking and rolls to Rashford, who invaded the area and shot accurately into the left corner of the Croatian goal.