John Stones, Harry Kane & Reece Jamesplaceholder image
John Stones, Harry Kane & Reece James | Getty Images
Rating every player from England’s impressive World Cup win over Croatia in Dallas - with Harry Kane at the top of our standings.
England kicked their 2026 World Cup campaign off with a deserved 4-2 win over Croatia in Dallas, and the scoreline might have been even more lopsided were it not for a string of outstanding saves from Dominic Livaković – but even without the addition of a little extra gloss, this was a victory and performance which will give the Three Lions an awful lot of confidence as they look ahead to the rest of the tournament.
Not that it was perfect, by any means. England looked rather nervy for much of the first half (head coach Thomas Tuchel described it as a “fearful” 45 minutes) and will be disappointed with the manner in which they conceded the two goals. Several members of the squad shone, but a few found the going a little tougher – we’ve given every player involved marks out of 10 as we separate the wheat from the chaff after the opening match.
Defenders struggle during England’s win over Croatia
Jordan Pickford – 5/10: England’s number one probably could have done a little better with Martin Baturina’s long-range effort, which he got a hand to despite the swerve and dip, and he played his part in England’s struggles to deal with the Croatian high press early on with short passes that played his team-mates into traffic. There wasn’t much Pickford could have done about the second, however, and his distribution improved markedly as the match wore on.
Nico O’Reilly – 6: O’Reilly definitely looked a little tense in the first half, which is perhaps understandable given that this was his first match in a major tournament, but dealt with opposing pressure far better in the second period and helped England to take control of the game. He could easily have scored with either of two presentable headed opportunities from set pieces, but played enough of a part in England’s attacking play after the break to be forgiven for his misses.
John Stones – 5: While O’Reilly could plausibly blame his nerve-jangling start on a lack of experience, Stones has no such excuse. Surprisingly picked ahead of Marc Guéhi, he looked a little sluggish and a little rusty in possession – understandable given his lack of playing time, perhaps, but he didn’t really back Tuchel’s selection up. Stones at least managed to avoid making any noteworthy defensive ricks, but this was not the most reassuring outing.
Ezri Konsa – 6: Konsa was a little more composed on the ball than his defensive comrades in the first half, but struggled to deal with high balls into the box on several occasions and was arguably at fault positionally in the build-up to Petar Musa’s second equaliser. Probably still emerged with more credit than Stones.
Reece James – 5: This wasn’t James at his vintage best. Got suckered towards the ball ahead of Musa’s goal and while he got forward more frequently than he has done in the past under Tuchel, he failed to make a telling contribution when given the chance to play the final pass.
Kane leads the way as England’s attack hits its stride early
Declan Rice – 7: While not as heavily involved as he so often is, Rice was disciplined in his defensive work and showed off some flashes of his quality with his passing, directly creating four shooting opportunities and picking Harry Kane out with a corner to tee up England’s second goal. Rice appeared to be in pain as he was substituted in the second half – a definite concern.
Elliot Anderson – 8: The speed at which Anderson has matured into the anchoring role in England’s midfield is truly dazzling. Precious little got past the 23-year-old, who acted as an impenetrable wall in front of England’s defence and made it impossible for Luka Modrić and his colleagues to generate any real rhythm. He also played Jude Bellingham in quite brilliantly for the third goal just after half-time. A superb player who seems to be on his way to genuine stardom.
Anthony Gordon – 6: His point-blank miss from a set piece aside – more of a superb piece of goalkeeping by Livaković than a mistake by Gordon – the newly-minted Barcelona winger was much quieter than he was in the warm-up win against Costa Rica and found far less space to exploit. A relatively subdued performance.
Jude Bellingham – 8: If there any serious debate about his place in the starting line-up, Bellingham put it to bed with a sharp and snappy display which he capped with a superb goal, racing onto Anderson’s long pass and finding an inch-perfect finish to kick-start a 15-minute period of absolute dominance for England.
Noni Madueke – 8: Madueke may not have Bukayo Saka’s guile or finesse in the final third, but he made it pretty clear as to why Tuchel took him to the World Cup – his directness, bravery on the ball and raw pace gave Croatia several huge headaches, created space in the final third and won England the penalty which Kane eventually put away to open the scoring.
Harry Kane – 9: There really isn’t much left to be said about just how good Kane is. Now level with Gary Lineker as England’s all-time record goalscorer at World Cups, this was a vintage day’s work – lethal in the penalty area and ceaselessly creative when dropping into pockets of space. England’s best finisher, best playmaker, and best player full stop. If he keeps this up, the Three Lions may have a chance to do something special.
Rashford & Saka shine from the bench
Marcus Rashford (on for Gordon 72’) – 8: Rashford only got to touch the ball a dozen times in his 20-odd-minute cameo, but as one of those touches involved him guiding the ball inside the far post after another touch eased him past the last defender, it’s fair to give him a pretty high mark. The kind of impact that England will need from the bench over the course of the tournament.
Morgan Rogers (on for Rice 72’) – 6: Rogers was clearly keen to get himself involved after coming on and was hugely energetic and enthusiastic in his work, sliding an excellent through ball into Djed Spence’s path for one of England’s late chances. The end product wasn’t there this time, but the work ethic was undeniable.
Bukayo Saka (on for Madueke 72’) – 8: Benched as he recovers from an Achilles injury, Saka looked nice and sharp when he came on, brilliantly setting up Rashford’s goal with a blast of pace and a couple of fine touches and demonstrating the class and technique we expect from Saka at his best on a few occasions. A very promising appearance.
Djed Spence (on for Bellingham 80’) – 7: Spence wasn’t on the field for long but found time for a couple of lung-busted forward runs which stretched Croatia’s defence and nearly led to another goal. Another player who offered cause to believe that Tuchel might have got his squad selection right.
Marc Guéhi (on for Stones 87’) – N/A: Simply not on the field for long enough to sensibly rate, but it was interesting to note that almost immediately after coming on he played a pair of quick one-touch passes to get out of trouble under pressure – precisely what Stones had struggled to do when England were under the cosh early on. It felt like he made a point in that moment.
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