Kane double, Bellingham strike fire England past Croatia in six-goal thriller at World Cup

Harry Kane scored twice in the first half — one a retaken penalty — as England survived a Croatia fightback to win 4-2 in their World Cup opener at the Dallas Cowboys' air-conditioned stadium on Wednesday.

Jude Bellingham put England ahead again just two minutes into the second half, and substitute Marcus Rashford made it safe with five minutes left. Croatia had twice equalised through Martin Baturina and Petar Musa after Kane's goals.

The match was a repeat of the 2018 semi-final, which Croatia won 2-1 after extra time. But this time, Thomas Tuchel's side held on in front of 70,000 fans.

England started nervously. Then came the drama. Croatia captain Luka Modric stuck out a leg and caught Noni Madueke in the box. Kane stepped up but saw his penalty saved by Dominik Livakovic — only for French referee Clement Turpin to order a retake after VAR showed the keeper had come off his line.

Kane kept his cool the second time, slotting to Livakovic's left to give England the lead after 12 minutes. It was Kane's ninth and tenth World Cup goals, tying Gary Lineker as England's all-time top scorer at the tournament.

Croatia levelled in the 36th minute. England lost the ball in midfield, Petar Sucic left John Stones on the floor with some footwork, and Baturina whipped the ball past Jordan Pickford.

Six minutes later, Declan Rice's corner found Kane unmarked at the far post, and the captain headed home. Tuchel barely smiled.

Deep into first-half stoppage time, Croatia hit back again. More poor defending from England allowed Musa to stroke in from close range for 2-2 at the break.

The second half started just as the first ended — with a goal. Bellingham galloped down the right unchallenged and rolled the ball into the corner. It was his first goal of the tournament.

England had chances to extend the lead. Kane, Bellingham, and Nico O'Reilly all went close. But with England dropping deeper, Croatia created several opportunities of their own.

Then Rashford popped up with five minutes left, collecting a pass and finishing to make it 4-2. The points were safe.

Tuchel, who has made winning the World Cup his clear target, saw his side start their campaign with three points. England haven't won a major trophy since 1966.

Croatia, one of the oldest squads at the tournament in North America, showed they can still cause problems. But England had too much firepower on the night.