Is this the best match of the World Cup so far? The question may arise after the six-goal thrill in Dallas. This city in the southern United States is the shooting location for many Hollywood “thriller” films. There, at Dallas Stadium, the England-Croatia match served up a genuine thriller of its own. And the “hero” of that thriller was Harry Kane, who scored twice.
England went ahead twice in the first half. Croatia equalized both times to peg England back. After the break they could not keep pace. England scored two more in this half to win 4-2 and open their World Cup campaign with a fine victory. Given how coach Thomas Tuchel’s side played, England’s fans might already start singing “It’s coming home!” after their opening match.
In attack, midfield and defense, Croatia could not match England. With pace, ball control and creativity, Jude Bellingham and Noni Madueke played superb football. As far as Croatia looked Kane’s side in the eye in the first half, the edge of their attack gradually faded after the break. In this half, both sides had several chances to score from scrambles in the box. They were denied more goals either by goalkeepers’ remarkable skill or by defenders standing in the way.
A few small statistics tell the story of how the two sides played. England took 22 shots, putting 11 on target. Their goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made three fine saves, including stopping a near-certain goal from close range in the very last moments of the match. At the other end, Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic was busier than Pickford, making seven saves. But he could not stop Kane’s “valid” penalty. The door to six goals opened after Kane’s first goal from the spot in the 12th minute. Behind the penalty, however, lay a lapse by 40-year-old evergreen midfielder Luka Modric. Modric, who became the first player in Croatia’s history to appear at a fifth World Cup, kicked forward Madueke on the thigh while trying to clear the ball inside the box. The referee blew for a penalty. But Livakovic saved Kane’s spot kick. VAR review showed Livakovic had come off his line before Kane took the shot. The referee ordered the penalty retaken, and this time Kane made no mistake in finding the target.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report