England’s bid to end a sixty-year wait for a World Cup title began in breathless fashion in Texas on Wednesday night, as they traded four goals with Croatia before the interval in a Group L opener that lurched from penalty drama to late heartbreak. Harry Kane, the captain, put Thomas Tuchel’s side ahead from the spot in the 12th minute after a VAR-ordered retake, then restored the lead with a glancing header from a Declan Rice corner just before the break. Yet each time Croatia, finalists in 2018 and semi-finalists four years ago, found an answer: Martin Baturina’s fierce, angled drive from outside the box made it 1-1, and deep into five minutes of added time, Ivan Perišić escaped the offside trap to nod the ball into the path of Petar Musa, whose volley stunned Jordan Pickford and levelled the contest at 2-2.

Viewed from London, the chaotic half crystallised both the promise and the familiar anxieties that cling to this England side. Tuchel, the German tasked with converting a generation of attacking talent into a tournament-winning machine, had made bold selection calls, starting Noni Madueke ahead of Bukayo Saka and handing Elliot Anderson a midfield role alongside Rice. The early penalty, won after a Croatian handball and converted at the second attempt when Dominik Livaković was ruled to have moved off his line, suggested control. Kane’s second, a classic poacher’s header, reinforced it. Yet the ease with which Croatia cut through the English defensive lines for both equalisers will sharpen questions in the English press about whether Tuchel’s high-risk approach can survive against elite opposition.

From the Croatian perspective, the half was a vindication of the resilience that has become the nation’s footballing identity. Luka Modrić, making his 199th international appearance at his fifth World Cup, was at the heart of the recovery, his midfield craft allowing younger legs such as Baturina and Sucic to exploit spaces behind England’s double pivot. Analysts in Zagreb note that Zlatko Dalić’s decision to keep Mateo Kovačić on the bench initially raised eyebrows, but the dynamism of the starting trio helped Croatia finish the half with more possession and, crucially, two goals from open play. The late equaliser, crafted by the evergreen Perišić, felt like a continuation of the 2018 semi-final narrative, when Croatia overturned an early English lead to win in extra time.

In the stands of AT&T Stadium, a sea of red-and-white chequered shirts roared their approval, outnumbering and often out-singing the English support. The Dallas venue, more accustomed to NFL Sundays, provided a cavernous, climate-controlled stage for a match that local organisers had billed as the group’s marquee event. With Ghana and Panama awaiting both sides, the stakes were already high; a draw at the interval leaves the group wide open and places a premium on the second-half response. For England, the need to find defensive solidity without sacrificing the verve that produced Kane’s double will define the next forty-five minutes. For Croatia, the challenge is to sustain the physical intensity that repeatedly caught England’s back line flat-footed.

As the teams emerged for the second period, the broader tournament context sharpened the tension. England arrived in North America ranked fourth in the world and carrying the weight of a nation still nostalgic for 1966; Croatia, ranked eleventh, are driven by the knowledge that this campaign likely represents the last dance for Modrić and Perišić. The first half suggested that neither narrative will yield easily. Whether Tuchel can adjust his defensive structure, and whether Dalić’s veterans can maintain their tempo, will determine if this four-goal spectacle becomes a classic or merely a prologue to a more cautious group-stage campaign.