SPORTSWORLD.AM
In the opening round of the 2026 World Cup, England faced off against the Croatian national team.
The England national football team ("Three Lions") successfully completed the 2026 World Cup European Zone (UEFA) qualifying round with high efficiency and confident play. The team was included in Group A, where it took first place and won a direct ticket to the World Cup finals.
Details of England's qualifying matches:
Final Group A standings
The English team won 5 of their 6 group games and drew only once with the Ukrainian team, earning 16 points.
The English team stood out with its consistent performance in the qualifying round, earning confident points both at home and away.
Against Ukraine: 2:0 (home), 1:1 (away)
Against Iceland: 3:1 (home), 2:1 (away)
Against Kazakhstan: 5:0 (home), 5:0 (away)
Team's top scorers
The English attack was traditionally led by team captain Harry Kane, but the geography of the goals was quite diverse.
Harry Kane — 6 goals
Bukayo Saka — 4 goals
Jude Bellingham — 3 goals
Phil Foden — 2 goals
The Croatia national football team (nicknamed "Vatreni" or "The Firemen") is one of the most impressive and enduring teams in world football. Despite the country's small population (around 3.8 million), Croatia has become one of the world's footballing superpowers in recent decades.
Major historical achievements
Croatia is known for its phenomenal performances at World Cups.
🥈 World Cup 2018 (Silver): The team reached the final, where they lost to France in a dramatic match (4:2).
🥉 World Cup 2022 (Bronze): Defeated Morocco (2:1) in the fight for 3rd place at the World Cup in Qatar.
🥉 1998 World Championships (Bronze): Led by Davor Shuker, they took 3rd place in their debut World Championship.
Team legends and current stars
Luka Modric is the team's eternal captain, legend, and Ballon d'Or winner (2018), who continues to be the driving force and symbol of the team.
Key players: Joško Guardiola (Manchester City), Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City), Marcelo Brozović and goalkeeper Dominik Livačović, who is known for his exceptional penalty saving skills in the playoffs.
Zlatko Dalic has been in charge of the team since 2017. Under his leadership, Croatia has won silver and bronze medals at the World Cup, as well as reached the final of the Nations League.
The Croatian team is known for its unbreakable character, great psychological stability during extended periods and post-match shootouts, which makes them one of the most dangerous opponents in any tournament.
In the first half, the teams showed hot and spectacular football, in the twelfth minute of the match Harry Kane opened the score with a penalty kick (1:0), then in the thirty-sixth minute Zlatko Dalic's men restored the balance of the score, the goal was scored by Martin Baturina (1:1). The English moved forward, which paid off in the 42nd minute of the match, Harry Kane scored a double in front of his name, again putting his team ahead (2:1). The Croats responded again, making the score 2:2, the goal was scored by Petar Musa.
In the second half, the England national team took the lead for the third time, the goal was scored by Jude Bellingham (3:2).
The English created a real mess in the opponent's penalty area. Thomas Tuchel's team bombarded the Croatian goal with great pressure in a short period of time, but failed to send the ball over the goal line for the fourth time.
Having the status of the winner, the English were not satisfied with what they had achieved, in the 85th minute of the match, Marcus Rashford made the score 4:2, putting an end to the match.
Thus, the England team celebrates its first victory at the 2026 World Cup, earning three points.