England got their 2026 World Cup campaign off to a winning start in a thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia. Despite plenty of uncertainty before the tournament, many questions have now been answered.
There were some excellent displays for the Three Lions – Croatia, despite their two goals, were comparatively frail. Who was England’s best player on the day – and who was Croatia’s worst?
England
GK: Jordan Pickford – 5
In a game where chances were thrown around like confetti, one can somewhat forgive Jordan Pickford for conceding two goals, but he never looked enormously settled. Not his finest hour, especially for the first goal.
RB: Reece James – 5
As a right-back, Reece James was a little off the pace, lending too much space to the Croatian attack, but fared better when he was shifted into central midfield.
CB: Ezri Konsa – 5
One of several World Cup debutants for England, Ezri Konsa was bullied a bit out there by Petar Musa and company. Of all his aerial duels, he won just 20% of them.
CB: John Stones – 5
John Stones certainly looked a bit rusty – this was understandable, given his lack of involvement for Manchester City this season. Nonetheless, he was much better in the second half, as he dropped deeper to draw out Croatia’s forwards and create space in behind.
LB: Nico O’Reilly – 4
Not the World Cup debut that Nico O’Reilly wanted. Often looking unsure of himself, he gave Croatia’s forwards far too much space – he also missed a gilt-edged chance at one point.
CM: Declan Rice – 5
By Declan Rice’s incredibly high standards, this was a poor display. Yes, he registered an assist, but he did little else – the Arsenal man must also accept a portion of the blame for Croatia’s first goal.
CM: Elliot Anderson – 8
Played an excellent ball to find Jude Bellingham for England’s third goal of the game – Elliot Anderson worked very hard and deserves credit for remaining composed in his World Cup debut.
RW: Noni Madueke – 7
A lively display from Noni Madueke – he isn’t without his critics, but he silenced the lot of them on Wednesday evening. A constant threat throughout his 72 minutes on the pitch.
AM: Jude Bellingham – 8
A rolls-royce esque performance from Jude Bellingham. Won a number of strong challenges and made a brilliant run for England’s third goal of the game.
LW: Anthony Gordon – 4
Unlike Madueke, Anthony Gordon was somewhat anonymous. He made a couple of decent runs, but rarely challenged a noticeably frail Croatian backline. Marcus Rashford, upon his introduction, proved to be a stark improvement.
ST: Harry Kane – 8
A typically brilliant display from Harry Kane. Outside of his missed penalty, which he made up for with the retake, he constantly caused Croatia issues with his adroit movement off the ball.