The Bayern Munich goal machine entered the match at the Dallas Cowboys' mighty stadium with 112 caps, 78 goals and enormous pressure on him. If England are to come close to a second World Cup gold medal 60 years after the first, he must succeed. And national team manager Gareth Southgate must find a tighter defense.
There is potential for improvement in the defense. Kane is not someone Southgate needs to worry about. The striker has stepped into the fight to be the World Cup's top scorer.
As a striker, it's always nice to find the right one early on. In the back of your mind, of course, you think about things like that, and when players like that perform well, it maybe makes me lift myself up a little too, says Kane in the mixed zone about Haaland, Mbappé and others having scored several goals in the World Cup before him.
Kane ice-cold penalty taker
How cold is the man?
Kane took the same penalty twice, after Dominik Livakovic had gone too early on the first. Kane placed the ball on the spot and sent the lead goal into the same corner.
Luka Modric was the unlucky man who caused the penalty in his 199th international and fifth World Cup start. England's Noni Madueke didn't see it wrong. Modric hit him – not the ball – with a clearance kick.
Those who had criticized the English defense got their money's worth when Petar Sucic turned past John Stones. From his pass, Martin Baturina scored 1-1. The joy did not last long. From Declan Rice's corner, Harry Kane powerfully headed in to make it 2-1 and matched Gary Lineker's English record of ten World Cup goals.
"A fantastic milestone to reach, ten World Cup goals. I'm enjoying being out on the pitch right now," says Kane.
But again the English defense was at fault. Mario Pasalic lifted in, Ivan Perisic headed down to Petar Musa – Herman Johansson's clubmate at FC Dallas – who equalized.
"It's great to score here at home. But I'm not happy. There's not much to celebrate because we lost," says Musa.
Lots of chances
Croatia, the 2018 World Cup silver medallist and 2022 bronze medallist, have one of the oldest teams in the tournament and lacked the legs in the second half. After a solo effort, Jude Bellingham made it 3-2 just two minutes after the break.
England showed their strength, clearly dominating the half, creating chances but Dominik Livakovic made some stunning saves.
Substitutes Marcus Rashford (goal scorer) and Bukayo Saka (forward) made it 4–2 in the end.
