Croatia 2 – 4 England

WORLDCUP · June 17, 2026 · Final

🎧 Post-Game Report (audio)

Post-Game Recap

England put Croatia away four goals to two in a dominant World Cup showing on June seventeenth, and it wasn't nearly as close as that scoreline suggests. England came out with purpose and never really surrendered control, building through the lines and making Croatia work for everything they got. The Croatians had their moments — they finished with ten shots of their own and kept possession honest at nearly forty-eight percent — but England generated the cleaner, more dangerous chances, putting eleven shots on frame compared to Croatia's five. Harry Kane was the engine of that attacking pressure, getting off seven total shots and making the Croatian backline miserable all night. When England needed someone to break the game open, Kane was right there. At the back, Elliot Anderson was outstanding with ten defensive interventions, cutting off Croatian transitions before they could build any real momentum. Ezri Konsa was the heartbeat of England's buildup, completing sixty-seven accurate passes and keeping the structure tight. Jordan Pickford made three saves on the night — Croatia rarely threatened, but when they did, Pickford was sharp. Croatia's Josip Sutalo was tidy in possession with sixty-three accurate passes, but Petar Sucic managed just one shot, and that tells you everything about how much Croatia struggled to find their rhythm going forward. England controlled this from the first whistle. That's your post-game report. Sports Desk, signing off.

AI-generated post-game report composed from the official play-by-play and box score.

Complete Play-by-Play

Show all 111 plays

Lineups are announced and players are warming up.

First Half begins.

Corner, Croatia. Conceded by Elliot Anderson. 2'

Attempt missed. Josip Sutalo (Croatia) right footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Ivan Perisic with a cross following a corner. 3'

Attempt blocked. Harry Kane (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. 8'

Corner, England. Conceded by Luka Modric. 8'

Attempt missed. Ezri Konsa (England) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Jude Bellingham following a corner. 9'

Penalty conceded by Luka Modric (Croatia) after a foul in the penalty area. 9'

Penalty England. Noni Madueke draws a foul in the penalty area. 9'

VAR Decision: Other Decision Cancelled. 11'

Goal! England 1, Croatia 0. Harry Kane (England) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner. 12'

VAR Decision: Other Decision Cancelled. 15'

Attempt blocked. Noni Madueke (England) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Harry Kane. 16'

Corner, England. Conceded by Mario Pasalic. 16'

Attempt blocked. Elliot Anderson (England) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. 16'

Petar Sucic (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 19'

Foul by Declan Rice (England). 19'

Luka Vuskovic (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 20'

Foul by Elliot Anderson (England). 20'

Delay in match for a drinks break. 23'

Delay over. They are ready to continue. 25'

Foul by Luka Vuskovic (Croatia). 28'

Harry Kane (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 28'

Attempt missed. Jude Bellingham (England) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Noni Madueke with a cross. 31'

Foul by Petar Musa (Croatia). 32'

Elliot Anderson (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 32'

Foul by Petar Sucic (Croatia). 32'

Nico O'Reilly (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half. 32'

Josip Stanisic (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 33'

Foul by Nico O'Reilly (England). 33'

Attempt missed. Harry Kane (England) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. 35'

Goal! England 1, Croatia 1. Martin Baturina (Croatia) right footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Petar Sucic. 36'

Martin Baturina (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 39'

Foul by Elliot Anderson (England). 39'

Petar Musa (Croatia) wins a free kick in the attacking half. 39'

Foul by Ezri Konsa (England). 39'

Corner, England. Conceded by Luka Vuskovic. 41'

Goal! England 2, Croatia 1. Harry Kane (England) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Declan Rice with a cross following a corner. 42'

Foul by Mario Pasalic (Croatia). 45'

Jude Bellingham (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half. 45'

Fourth official has announced 5 minutes of added time. 45'

Attempt blocked. Reece James (England) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. 45'+1'

Attempt missed. Mario Pasalic (Croatia) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Martin Baturina. 45'+4'

Foul by Harry Kane (England). 45'+4'

Luka Modric (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 45'+4'

Goal! England 2, Croatia 2. Petar Musa (Croatia) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ivan Perisic with a headed pass. 45'+5'

First Half ends, England 2, Croatia 2. 45'+6'

Second Half begins England 2, Croatia 2. 45'

Goal! England 3, Croatia 2. Jude Bellingham (England) right footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Elliot Anderson. 47'

Attempt saved. Jude Bellingham (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Dominik Livakovic (Croatia). Assisted by Declan Rice. 48'

Corner, England. Conceded by Dominik Livakovic. 48'

Attempt missed. Nico O'Reilly (England) header from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Declan Rice with a cross following a corner. 49'

Foul by John Stones (England). 51'

Martin Baturina (Croatia) wins a free kick in the attacking half. 51'

Attempt saved. Declan Rice (England) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top right corner by Dominik Livakovic (Croatia). Assisted by Nico O'Reilly. 52'

Corner, England. Conceded by Dominik Livakovic. 52'

Corner, England. Conceded by Ivan Perisic. 53'

Corner, England. Conceded by Mario Pasalic. 55'

Attempt saved. Nico O'Reilly (England) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal by Dominik Livakovic (Croatia). Assisted by Declan Rice with a cross. 55'

Attempt saved. Anthony Gordon (England) header from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal by Dominik Livakovic (Croatia). 56'

Attempt saved. Ezri Konsa (England) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal by Dominik Livakovic (Croatia). 56'

Corner, England. Conceded by Josip Sutalo. 56'

Attempt saved. Harry Kane (England) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Dominik Livakovic (Croatia). Assisted by Noni Madueke. 57'

Attempt missed. Harry Kane (England) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Nico O'Reilly. 57'

Substitution, Croatia. Mateo Kovacic replaces Luka Modric. 58'

Foul by Ivan Perisic (Croatia). 61'

John Stones (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 61'

Mateo Kovacic (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 62'

Foul by Harry Kane (England). 62'

Foul by Mateo Kovacic (Croatia). 65'

Elliot Anderson (England) wins a free kick on the right wing. 65'

Substitution, Croatia. Igor Matanovic replaces Petar Musa. 66'

Substitution, Croatia. Marco Pasalic replaces Luka Vuskovic. 66'

Foul by Igor Matanovic (Croatia). 67'

Jordan Pickford (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 67'

Attempt blocked. Anthony Gordon (England) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Harry Kane with a headed pass. 69'

Delay in match for a drinks break. 69'

Substitution, England. Morgan Rogers replaces Declan Rice. 72'

Substitution, England. Bukayo Saka replaces Noni Madueke. 72'

Substitution, England. Marcus Rashford replaces Anthony Gordon. 72'

Delay over. They are ready to continue. 72'

Foul by Ivan Perisic (Croatia). 73'

Bukayo Saka (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 73'

Attempt saved. Marco Pasalic (Croatia) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Jordan Pickford (England). Assisted by Josip Stanisic. 76'

Attempt saved. Igor Matanovic (Croatia) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Jordan Pickford (England). Assisted by Ivan Perisic. 77'

Offside, Croatia. Marco Pasalic is caught offside. 78'

Substitution, Croatia. Andrej Kramaric replaces Mario Pasalic. 78'

Substitution, Croatia. Nikola Vlasic replaces Martin Baturina. 78'

Foul by Igor Matanovic (Croatia). 79'

Ezri Konsa (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 79'

Substitution, England. Djed Spence replaces Jude Bellingham. 80'

Attempt missed. Petar Sucic (Croatia) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. 81'

Attempt saved. Djed Spence (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal by Dominik Livakovic (Croatia). Assisted by Morgan Rogers with a through ball. 82'

Igor Matanovic (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 83'

Foul by Reece James (England). 83'

Attempt saved. Mateo Kovacic (Croatia) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner by Jordan Pickford (England). 84'

Goal! England 4, Croatia 2. Marcus Rashford (England) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Bukayo Saka. 85'

Substitution, England. Marc Guéhi replaces John Stones. 87'

Foul by Nikola Vlasic (Croatia). 90'

Ezri Konsa (England) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 90'

Fourth official has announced 6 minutes of added time. 90'

Attempt blocked. Andrej Kramaric (Croatia) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Ivan Perisic with a headed pass. 90'+4'

Mateo Kovacic (Croatia) wins a free kick in the defensive half. 90'+4'

Foul by Elliot Anderson (England). 90'+4'

Corner, Croatia. Conceded by Djed Spence. 90'+4'

Attempt blocked. Josko Gvardiol (Croatia) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is blocked. 90'+5'

Foul by Petar Sucic (Croatia). 90'+5'

Morgan Rogers (England) wins a free kick in the attacking half. 90'+5'

Attempt missed. Harry Kane (England) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Morgan Rogers. 90'+6'

Second Half ends, England 4, Croatia 2. 90'+7'

Match ends, England 4, Croatia 2.