What we learned from England v Croatia

Karan Ahgun

— 3 min read
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What we learned from England v Croatia

England's 4-2 victory over Croatia will fill supporters with confidence going into the remaining group games against Panama and Ghana but at half-time, the feeling was quite different.

The Three Lions made a quick start as Harry Kane scored his first from the penalty spot. It was not a foregone conclusion that Kane was going to score though as Livakovic saved the first attempt before being pulled up for not being on the line, as well as encroachment from a Croatian defender after the save. England remained on top up until the much-maligned hydration break which saw the momentum swing in Croatia's favour. The Croatians soon equalised through Baturina's special strike but there were some question marks over England's defending. But the England response was great as they soon retook the lead through Kane's headed goal off of a Declan Rice corner. At this point, the game needed some control but the nature of the first-half was more chaotic and control never came. Croatia equalised again with the final touch of the first half through Musa but once again, it was a sloppy goal to concede from an England point-of-view.

England started the second-half on fire as Jude Bellingham scored a couple of minutes into the half. The Three Lions kept the momentum going and forced Livakovic into a series of important saves to keep Croatia in the game. The control that Thomas Tuchel was seeking in the first- half was there in the second-half. England were threatening throughout the game but were especially threatening in the second-half. The danger they posed to Croatia was further bolstered by England's substitutions as the likes of Saka, Rogers and Rashford came on for the final part of the game. Rashford and Saka were involved in delivering the final blow to Croatia as Saka fed Rashford, who cooly slotted in a fourth for England.

It''s clear that England's attacking prowess has the ability to bail the team out of tight situations but there are still some defensive concerns for Tuchel to sort out as the team hopes to get further into the tournament. Pundits and journalists have called this performance the most "un-England England performance". In tournaments gone by, the team may well have struggled to go on and beat Croatia as well as they did in the second-half. Tuchel deserves credit for getting that reaction out of his players, and much was said post-match about his half-time speech. England certainly have one of the best managers at the World Cup and the team carries a lot of threat going forward. But to win the World Cup, they need to tighten up defensively and we shall see in the games against Ghana and Panama if they are able to do so.

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