England light up Dallas as Kane and Bellingham fire statement win
18.06.26, 05:38 Updated 18.06.26, 10:20 5 Minute Read
Phil Martin
In the home of the Dallas Cowboys, this had all the drama of a rootin-tootin Texas Western: wide open, unpredictable, a gunslinging marksman in Harry Kane and one which culminated in one side eventually outshooting the other. A World Cup classic in which England were well worth the win against Croatia, in a game that never fully settled in the opening 45 minutes, swinging between control and chaos inside the vast, air-conditioned arena: a supersized Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
In the second half England were much more in command, after a calm and measured half-time intervention from Thomas Tuchel. Americans love a statistic and in Dallas they pointed one way. The 22–10 shot count underlined England’s attacking threat. Their forward play was sharp, and at times it was just too much for Croatia, who had to use all their experience to stay in the game. But let’s not get too carried away, yet. Behind that were familiar defensive anxieties that Tuchel will not ignore.
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Phil Martin Author, journalist and veteran of eight major tournaments, and England top capper, with a background in sports writing, editing and publishing.