2026 FIFA World Cup: Live Blog - England v Croatia

2307 BST GRNDSTND's coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will continue on Friday with a special feature on the sporting superpowers of USA and Australia, ahead of live blogs covering USA v Australia, and Scotland v Morocco as the second round of group games begin

2304 BST The game of the tournament by far and a phenomenal start for England. The whole squad looks up for this tournament, with Saka and Rashford starring off the bench.

FULL-TIME ENGLAND 4-2 CROATIA

What a win for England.

A wonderful performance against stern opposition.

94 mins Harry Kane with an outrageous block to deny Croatia a third goal, putting his body on the line for the cause

6 mins added on

88 mins One day shy of the 30th anniversary of England's 4-1 win over the Netherlands, England have produced one of their greatest ever World Cup performances to defeat Croatia, that is how it should be viewed, but no doubt the doom merchants will try to bring the mood down.

85 mins GOOOOAAALLLLLL!!!! MAGNIFICENT ENGLAND GOAL, SAKA SENSATIONAL TWICE AND RASHFORD WITH A FANTASTIC FINISH. ENGLAND FOUR CROATIA TWO. A WORLD CUP CLASSIC.

84 mins Increasing pressure from Croatia, but they cannot create anything significant England 3-2 Croatia

78 mins Croatia have had more of the ball and England have slowed down a bit, and Bellingham comes off to a standing ovation from the England fans. Djed Spence replaces the Real Madrid man. England 3-2 Croatia

71 mins Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Morgan Rogers come on for Declan Rice, Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke England 3-2 Croatia

2235 BST Hydration break and more excellent analysis from Emma Hayes. She is the only pundit ITV need. Chuck the others in the East River.

64 mins Noni Madueke has been fantastic, his direct style is causing Croatia problems and has done from the very start England 3-2 Croatia

61 mins Jordan Pickford's distribution has been breathtakingly brilliant. Emma Hayes' analysis of his role in the first half was outstanding. I will take her word over Gary Neville every day of the week. England 3-2 Croatia

57 mins ENGLAND ABSOLUTELY RAMPANT! Somehow Croatia survive but they are subbing Modric already, as Kavacic comes on. They have to convert this pressure to put this game to bed England 3-2 Croatia

55 mins another Rice corner causes Chaos in the Croatia box, and their keeper makes three saves to keep them within 1 goal of England England 3-2 Croatia

54 mins Ferocious start from England, Croatia cannot keep the ball England 3-2 Croatia

49 mins Bellingham breaks away again and his shot is saved, and O'Reilly should score from another wonderful Rice corner, this incredible game continues England 3-2 Croatia

47 mins GOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!! JUDE BELLINGHAM RUNS DOWN THE RIGHT WING AND CUTS ACROSS THE DEFENDER AND SLIDES IN OFF THE POST FOR A STUNNING GOAL! ENGLAND 3-2 CROATIA. WHAT. A. GAME.

2210 BST Second half underway and I wonder what drama awaits us England 2-2 Croatia

2200 BST Gary Neville must be an absolutely dour husband, deary me just praise the Croatian goals. They have been stunning. Stop criticizing for gods sake!

Game of the tournament so far? Surely it is. Croatia have scored two wonderful goals, Harry Kane has scored twice, the intense midfield battle has been splendid, and we have a compelling second half ahead of us.

Key stats (BBC)

Possession Croatia 52% England 48%

Shots England 9-4 Croatia

Shots on target England 2-2 Croatia

Touches in the opposition box England 15-8 Croatia

50 mins IT'S 2-2!!! MUSA VOLLEYS HOME AND SOMEHOW CROATIA ARE LEVEL HEADING INTO HALF TIME, or do they? They do, no VAR Check for offside, and we have a classic in Dallas. HALF-TIME ENGLAND 2-2 CROATIA

49 mins it has been a really competitive first half, and the midfield battle is intense. Harry Kane, Noni Madueke and Declan Rice have been outstanding so far.

41 mins ENGLAND 2-1 CROATIA! DECLAN RICE WITH A MAGNIFICENT CORNER, AND HARRY KANE PLANTS A WONDERFUL HEADER INTO THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER OF THE NET TO GIVE ENGLAND THE LEAD AGAIN! HE EQUALS GARY LINEKER'S TALLY OF WORLD CUP GOALS FOR ENGLAND, IT IS HIS 81ST FOR ENGLAND.

39 mins why do we always have to scapegoat players? BBC website saying Bellingham lost the ball, it was a magnificent Croatian goal, can we not just accept that?

37 mins we have quite a game this evening England 1-1 Croatia

36 mins ENGLAND 1-1 CROATIA - A STUNNING GOAL FROM BATURINA FROM 20+ YARDS CURLING INTO THE TOP CORNER AND FROM ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE CROATIA ARE LEVEL!

30 mins a delicious cross from Madueke almost results in a Bellingham goal, his touch cannot divert it on target but England are taking some degree of control here England 1-0 Croatia

23 mins England fans boo the hydration break, please grow up, they aren't going anywhere, at least in this World Cup. We truly do have pathetic fans. England 1-0 Croatia

20 mins Bellingham breaks away, from another Kane pass, but he is crowded out on the edge of the box England 1-0 Croatia

18 mins the England fans singing, and England are edging it so far, but only just. Energetic start. England 1-0 Croatia

15 mins Noni Madueke latches onto a Kane pass and runs away, gets a shot in but its blocked for a corner, here comes Rice England 1-0 Croatia

14 mins Croatia come forward with pace, and England escape England 1-0 Croatia

11 mins KANE SCORES! AND ENGLAND LEAD! Hammers it down to the keeper's left and that is goal number 80 for England's Greatest Goalscorer! ENGLAND 1-0 CROATIA

9 mins KANE'S PENALTY IS SAVED! BUT THE CROATIAN KEEPER COMES OFF THE LINE TOO EARLY AND IT WILL BE CHECKED. Croatians also encroach, and the PENALTY WILL BE RETAKEN! Extraordinary start in Arlington. England 0-0 Croatia

8 mins Kane shot deflected wide, England's first corner which is taken by Declan Rice, and PENALTY TO ENGLAND! Noni Madueke is kicked by Modric, and here comes Kane. England 0-0 Croatia

6 mins More possession for England, who are slowing the game down to try and combat the Croatian press, but it isn't the high tempo start Tuchel wanted England 0-0 Croatia

2 mins England concede a sloppy corner after getting caught by the Croatian press, it comes to nothing when Sitalo volleys high and wide England 0-0 Croatia

2055 BST England fans already made history, the first to boo an opposition national anthem at this World Cup. Pathetic. It will just galvanize the Croats, as if they needed any more motivation for this game. It is just as important to them.

2054 BST AT&T Stadium is full, and looks magnificent, here comes God Save the King

2053 BST Both teams are in the tunnel, and here we go, England set to make the debut in this tournament

2050 BST Humming along to this beauty ahead of kick-off, please no more Football's Coming Home

2040 BST Journalist Henry Winter discusses the England team

2026 BST The scene inside AT&T Stadium ahead of kick-off

2022 BST Thomas Tuchel has selected this lineup for England v Croatia

2020 BST 30 years ago tomorrow night England produced potentially its greatest performance of the modern era, dismantling the Dutch 4-1 at Wembley to win Group A in the European Championships, the peak highlight of the unforgettable summer of Euro 96. I was a 12, soon to be a 13-year-old and this was the first tournament I had watched England play at, and it was the start of my strange relationship with the England Men's National Football Team. First and foremost I am an Arsenal fan.

The first game I vividly have memories of is the 1993 FA Cup Semi-Final between Arsenal and Tottenham, followed by that year's Coca-Cola Cup Final, FA Cup Final and the replay. After Euro 96 I often found myself cheering for teams which featured Arsenal players, mainly the Netherlands (Bergkamp and Overmars) and France (Vieira, Petit, Henry, Pires, Wiltord). That decade-long era also often saw Arsenal only provide the Goalkeeper (David Seaman) and defenders for England (Adams, Campbell, Keown and Cole).

I do fondly remember select moments featuring England since Euro 96, including the final qualification game for France 98 against Italy in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome where the two teams played out a thrilling 0-0 draw, which was enough to see Glenn Hoddle's England qualify for the World Cup. I recall being allowed to stay off school for England's opening game of France 98 against Tunisia, which kicked off at 1.30pm on Monday 15 June 1998. But absolutely the greatest moment of that World Cup for me was the Dennis Bergkamp winning goal against Argentina in the quarter-finals in Marseille, closely followed by Patrick Vieira assisting Emmanuel Petit for the third French goal in the final against Brazil.

David Beckham's stunning last minute free-kick against Greece to secure qualification for the 2002 World Cup was almost the only memorable England moment for a decade and a half, and then came the 2018 World Cup in Russia. By now I was living in Scotland, another added layer to my relationship with England. I went to a St Andrews bar with friends to watch several games, including the Quarter-Final v Colombia, and the Semi-Final v Croatia.

The run to the final of Euro 2020 was incredible, a real high during the awful period of the Pandemic, and it was a great disappointment seeing England lose in the final against Italy on Penalties, but it cannot compare for me to the absolutely gut-wrenching defeat for Arsenal in this year's UEFA Champions League Final v PSG. Equally, I am not sure the joy I will feel after England do eventually win a trophy will come anywhere near close to the joy I felt seeing Arsenal win a first League Title in 22 years.

So, here we are again at the start of another major tournament, and the media and general expectation is high for England, and it all begins tonight with the opening group game against Croatia.

GRNDSTND, by Matt Hooper

Matt Hooper is an Associate Member of the Sports Journalists Association