At 24', England struck through Morgan Rogers, whose goal was set up by Jude Bellingham. The hosts held a 1-0 lead at half-time, but Croatia found a response after the break.
Croatia levelled at 59', when Petar Sucic made it 1-1. The match turned four minutes later: VAR awarded England a penalty at 63' after an incident involving Ivan Smolcic, who was booked in the same minute. Kane converted from the spot at 64', restoring England's lead.
Croatia made a double change at 70', sending on Ante Budimir and Mario Pasalic for Igor Matanovic and Sucic. At 76', Marco Pasalic replaced Smolcic, while Luka Modric came on for Josip Misic. England responded with Rio Ngumoha for Anthony Gordon at 77', then James Garner for Declan Rice and Ben White for Trent Alexander-Arnold at 78'. Croatia sent Lovro Majer on for Mateo Kovacic at 90'. Croatia had six shots on target to England's three, but Jordan Pickford made five saves. Kane's penalty proved the difference as England protected its lead to full-time.
| Metric | England | Croatia |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 52% | 48% |
| Shots | 14 | 10 |
| Shots on target | 3 | 6 |
| Shots off target | 5 | 4 |
| Corners | 6 | 7 |
| Fouls | 9 | 8 |
| Yellow cards | 0 | 1 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
| Offsides | 1 | 1 |
| Goalkeeper saves | 5 | 1 |
Our pre-match analysis called this one correctly. These picks were backed before kick-off and landed after the final result.
1X2: Home @1.26
Pre-match pick: England's strong recent form and our predicted 2-0 score make them the pick.