England Complete Successful International Window with Two Wins
England’s senior men’s team enjoyed a perfect international break, securing a 3-0 friendly win over Costa Rica followed by a thrilling 4-2 victory over Croatia in their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Friendly: England 3 – 0 Costa Rica
The match, played at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida, was delayed by one hour due to a thunderstorm.
Thomas Tuchel selected a starting lineup close to his expected World Cup XI, with notable inclusions being Jude Bellingham as the number 10, Anthony Gordon on the left wing, Noni Madueke on the right, Ezri Konsa in central defense, and Reece James at right-back, where he inverted to provide an extra midfielder.
Goals- Declan Rice opened the scoring in the 10th minute.
- Anthony Gordon converted a penalty in the second half.
- Ollie Watkins also scored in the second half.
- Noni Madueke missed a one-on-one chance in the 36th minute.
- A potential penalty for England in first-half stoppage time was overturned after a VAR review.
- An Eberechi Eze shot struck a Costa Rican player's arm, leading to the penalty converted by Gordon.
- Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made an errant pass that nearly created a chance for Costa Rica.
- Jude Bellingham took the captain's armband after Harry Kane was substituted.
- England registered 28 shots in total.
World Cup Group L Opener: England 4 – 2 Croatia
The match was played in Dallas, Texas. This was Thomas Tuchel's first tournament match as England manager, and the fourth meeting between England and Croatia at a major tournament this century.
Team Lineups- England: Jordan Pickford; Reece James, John Stones, Ezri Konsa, Nico O'Reilly; Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice; Jude Bellingham; Noni Madueke, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane (captain).
- Croatia: Dominik Livakovic; Josip Stanisic, Josko Gvardiol, Martin Baturina, Petar Musa, Mario Pasalic, Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic.
- 12th minute: Harry Kane scored from a retaken penalty. His initial attempt was saved by Dominik Livakovic, but a video replay ruled the goalkeeper had left his line early. Kane scored on the second attempt.
- 36th minute: Martin Baturina equalized for Croatia.
- 42nd minute: Harry Kane restored England's lead, scoring from a corner.
- First-half stoppage time: Petar Musa equalized for Croatia, assisted by Ivan Perisic. The first half ended 2-2.
- 47th minute: Jude Bellingham scored to give England a 3-2 lead.
- 85th minute: Marcus Rashford scored, assisted by substitute Bukayo Saka, to make the final score 4-2.
- England had a potential penalty incident for a foul on Harry Kane by Josko Gvardiol.
- The match featured two hydration breaks.
- According to Opta, England lost only one of its last eight World Cup openers (W4 D3), while Croatia won only one of its last five opening matches (D1 L3).
Player Milestones
Luka Modric became the fourth European player to play in five different World Cups (2006, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026), joining Cristiano Ronaldo, Lothar Matthäus, and Manuel Neuer. He is also the second European to appear at 10 different major tournaments (World Cups and Euros), after Ronaldo.
Jude Bellingham made his 16th major tournament appearance (World Cups and Euros), the most of any European player before turning 23. He also became the youngest European player in history to appear at four different major tournaments, aged 22 years and 353 days.
Harry Kane made his 115th England appearance, overtaking Steven Gerrard (114) and tying David Beckham for joint-third all-time. He is behind Peter Shilton (125) and Wayne Rooney (120).
Other Matches and Notes
- DR Congo held Portugal to a 1-1 draw. Cristiano Ronaldo did not have a shot on target.
- England and Norway were the only UEFA teams to win 100% of their World Cup qualifying games (8/8). England was also the only UEFA team not to concede a goal in qualifying.
- Tino Livramento withdrew from the England squad due to injury. Bukayo Saka was recovering from Achilles tendinitis.