World Cup Match Notes: England 4, Croatia 2: A Wild One at Dallas Stadium

England used a second half surge to put away a pesky Croatia side 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Dallas Stadium.

Twice England led in the first half, thanks to a brace from Harry Kane. Twice Croatia answered, with the second equalizer coming courtesy of FC Dallas’ own Petar Musa, who buried a stoppage-time volley to send the teams level at 2-2.

It took a stunning solo run from Jude Bellingham 90 seconds into the second half, and an insurance goal from substitute Marcus Rashford in the 85th minute to put away Croatia for good and give England the early advance in Group L.

Key Moments

9’- PENALTY! After a poor clearance off a corner kick, Luka Modric fouled Noni Madueke inside the penalty box.

10’ - SAVE! Harry Kane’s attempt is stopped by Livakovic but it looks like VAR may take a look to see if the keeper came off his line too early.

12’ - GOAL! Kane finds the back of the net this time! 1-0 England.

15’ - Musa gets a touch inside the penalty area and loses the ball and his footing. He looks for a penalty of his own, but the center ref denies it.

36’ - GOAL! What a banger, too! Croatia ties it up with a wonderful strike from Martin Baturina. Petar Sucic helped set up the attempt for Baturina with some quick passes at the top of the penalty box. Musa’s run at the beginning of the play helps free Baturina at the top of the penalty area. England keeper Jordan Pickford got a hand on it, but the pace of Baturina’s strike was too much.

42’ - GOAL! Kane again! This time on a corner kick taken by Declan Rice. Musa may have been the guy to mark Kane, but the veteran striker was way to open to head home his second of the day.

45+5’ - MUUUUUUUUSSSSAAAAA GOOOOOAAAALLL!!!

47’ - GOAL! England regains the lead! This time it is Jude Bellingham who finds the back of the net after dribbling the ball a good 20 yards before hitting a shot that took a weird bounce before hitting the far post and then into the back of the net.

66’ - Musa’s day comes to an end as he is subbed out for Igor Matanovic.

85’ - GOAL! England gets an insurance goal on a counter attack. This time it is Marcus Rashford who gets free along the left side of the penalty box. He made one move past a Croatian defender before finding the back of the net.

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Instant Reaction

What a fantastic second game in Dallas at this World Cup. This game had a lot more in it in the first half than what we saw on Sunday between the Netherlands and Japan. England probably could have had two or three more goals, as Croatia struggled to get their attack going in the second half.

Musa scoring his goal was certainly special, though. As someone who has covered FC Dallas for almost a couple of decades now, seeing one of our own score at this stage is always going to be emotional.

Man of the Match

You could easily go with Kane and his two goals, but it was Bellingham for me who stood out more for England. His run to open up the second half got the Three Lions going, and he easily could have had two more on the day.

Where does this fit in Group L

England not only gets the three points, but the extra goal gives them a bit of early distance in the goal differential department.

What’s next for both squads

Both teams return to action next Tuesday, June 23. England will take on Ghana in Boston, while Croatia will battle Panama in Toronto.

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