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For 45 minutes, this had the makings of another England worry fest — two leads surrendered, two soft goals conceded, the old ghosts stirring. Then Thomas Tuchel gave the team the right motivation at the half. England stopped being generous, and the game tilted in their favor for good. The 4-2 scoreline at Dallas Stadium undersells how one-sided the second half became. Harry Kane has a brace. Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford supplied the rest. Croatia hung around, then got buried. Here are my takeaways from England’s World Cup opener win. 1. Harry Kane Is the Most Complete Striker on the Planet Two more goals, of course. A retaken penalty he buried without blinking, then a textbook finish off a Declan Rice delivery. A brace in a World Cup opener from a man who treats scoring like a chore he’s contractually obligated to complete. The Bayern Munich numbers have stopped being numbers and started being satire: 36 Bundesliga goals this season — a third straight Golden Boot, the most in Europe’s top five leagues — and 58 in all competitions. He is, right now, the most clinical finisher alive. But the finishing isn’t even the best part. Watch where he operates. Kane spent long spells dropping into midfield, spraying passes, setting tempo, springing Bellingham into space. A No. 9 who is also your best No. 10. That’s not a striker. That’s a two for one deal that England simply cannot live without. 2. Getting Forward For England Was Absurdly Easy The xG told one story; the eye test told a louder one. England piled up 22 shots, 11 of them on target. The only reason this wasn’t a rout was Croatia keeper Dominik Livaković, who at one point produced a save-rebound-save scramble to deny midfielder Nico O’Reilly, then winger Anthony Gordon, then center back Ezri Konsa in the span of seconds. The width was relentless — winger Noni Madueke constantly pushing on the right, and Gordon stretching on the left — making the middle of the field worse for Croatia because that’s where Jude Bellingham lives. Time and again he collected the ball, drove through the lines and arrived in the box, finishing the third himself and combining slickly with Rice, Kane and Elliot Anderson. When England clicks going forward, few teams on earth create chances this cleanly. This was a genuinely excellent attacking performance. 3. Croatia Won’t Reach a Final Like in 2018 — But They’re Far From Done Let’s be honest: the 2018 magic isn’t walking back through that door. This Croatia squad won’t grind its way to a World Cup final on penalties and sheer stubbornness like it did in Russia. The legs aren’t quite there. But write them off at your peril. Luka Modrić, 40 and playing his fifth World Cup, didn’t have a vintage performance and gave up a penalty, but still moves around like he’s 10 years younger. Around the veterans — Ivan Perišić, Mateo Kovačić — sits a genuinely exciting next wave. Como’s Martin Baturina announced himself with a thunderbolt of an equalizer. Petar Sučić is a complete box-to-box midfielder coming through the ranks. Josip Stanišić is a Champions League regular at Leverkusen. The quality is still there, but Croatia’s first test happened to be against one of the best five nations at the World Cup. Croatia conceded four and still looked like a team that won’t be fun to draw, assuming they advance from this group. That blend of veteran savvy and youth should cause problems to the middle of the pack. 4. The One Thing That Should Keep Tuchel Up at Night Here’s the catch on an otherwise glowing day: England fell asleep defensively. Twice in the first half they took the lead, and twice they switched off in midfield — the Petar Musa equalizer came straight from a snooze, Perišić slipping behind the line and heading it back for the first-time finish through keeper Jordan Pickford’s legs. There’s a pattern here that predates this match: England get ahead, get comfortable, and invite pressure they never needed to. Against Croatia, this team simply had the firepower to outscore the problem. Against a France or a Spain in a knockout, it won’t. The talent is overwhelming — the bench alone coughed up Rashford’s curler. Tuchel’s job isn’t adding more attack. It’s convincing this team that a two-goal lead is a reason to step on a throat, not ease off it.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

U.S. World Cup Team Training Base (IRVINE, Calif.) — Christian Pulisic emerged from the U.S. men’s national team’s pop-up training tent and jogged to the far side of the field. His teammates had already begun warming up ahead of Wednesday’s practice, making this the third day in a row that the squad had to work out without him. Pulisic is participating in “modified training” and is “day-to-day” according to a U.S. Soccer spokesperson. The superstar forward left the Americans’ 4-1 World Cup opening victory vs. Paraguay last Friday in the first half after he was kicked in the back of his leg. He wore what appeared to be some kind of black compression sleeve around his left calf on Wednesday while he went through light passing drills with team trainers. The USA faces Australia on Friday in Seattle for its second group stage match (3 p.m. ET on FOX/FOX One). The nations are tied atop Group D with three points, but the U.S. has a slight advantage on goal differential. At the moment, it’s unclear if Pulisic will be available to play. His teammates, a few of whom have spoken with the media this week, are hopeful. U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino is expected to address the issue at his press conference on Thursday. However, it’s unlikely he’ll reveal any trade secrets – and Pulisic’s status probably won’t be public knowledge until lineups are released on Friday about an hour before kickoff. “We’re really hoping that Christian’s gonna be back for the game,” attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson told a group of reporters before Wednesday’s training session. “I don’t really know what’s going on in particular, but we know that he’s gonna give us his all to get back into the team and be there for the game. So we’ll see.” Pulisic contributed to the USA’s first two goals against Paraguay. He was dynamic and dangerous, showing the world that he’s in top form. He spoke with reporters following the match and was asked about his injury. “I’m really hoping that it’s nothing,” he said matter of factly at the time. Since then, the U.S. has been cautious with him. “We’ve still got a couple of days to see where he’s at and, you know, thankfully we’ve got a lot of boys on the bench who are eager and ready to get involved in helping the team and [we have] a lot of quality,” said fullback Antonee “Jedi” Robinson, who plays on the left side with Pulisic. Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter started the second half of the last match when Pulisic needed to come out at halftime. What will Pochettino do against Australia if he can’t play? There are several options depending on which way Pochettino wants to go, including Berhalter, Aaronson, Gio Reyna, Tim Weah or even Christian Roldan, who plays for the MLS club Seattle Sounders and will be anxious to get on the pitch in front of a home crowd. Pulisic, though, is irreplaceable. “Christian is a world-class player,” Weah said earlier this week. “Christian, for me, is top five wingers in the world. He’s one of my favorite players to watch. Being able to play alongside him for a long time has been amazing.” “It’s just the little things that he does,” Weah added. “I mean, he showed it against Paraguay. His ability and what he’s able to do on the ball is amazing for us, it helps the team, and for me, he’s one of the best players I’ve had the opportunity to play with. I’m super proud of him, and hopefully he’ll be ready for our next game.” Pulisic suffered an injury during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar while scoring the decisive goal in the final group stage match against Iran, which sent the Americans to the knockout round. Although he campaigned to play the second half, he went to the hospital instead to make sure he was okay. Pulisic is the face of the team and is highly motivated to help the United States make history at a home World Cup. He is the type of person who will be doing everything in his power to play on Friday. This isn’t an elimination game, but the U.S. wants to finish first in its group to potentially have a more favorable path in the knockout stage. But don’t be surprised if Pochettino plays it safe with his star – the matchup vs. Australia is expected to be physical and intense. In fact, the last time the teams met in October, Pulisic was forced off in the first half following a hard challenge. “It’s a long tournament,” Robinson said. “If we don’t have him back for the game, then you know we’re going to make sure we have him back for the rest of the way because we’re going to need him as we’re going to need everyone. Hopefully we have everyone available.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports