“We scored two goals that were good actions and good situations, but they were too little,” Croatia coach Zlatco Dalic said through an interpreter. “England was very difficult, (we) also have to be strong on the defensive side.”
Bellingham almost immediately had another great scoring chance after the Real Madrid player’s seventh international goal. Livakovic made that save and about a half-dozen more in a matter of minutes during a frenetic English attack.
“We could have scored probably three goals in that 20-minute spell coming out (after halftime),” Kane said. “In the end, we just had too much for a great team that will probably go far in the tournament themselves.”
Musa scored the first World Cup goal for an active player from Dallas of Major League Soccer, which plays its home games about 40 miles from AT&T Stadium.
The retractable-roof venue that is home to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys is giving World Cup fans an air-conditioned reprieve from the muggy Texas heat, this time for white-clad English fans and Croatian supporters who were mostly wearing their country’s familiar red-and-white checkered uniforms, not the blue kits the players had on.
Musa tracked a header from Ivan Perisic and put a one-timer past Jordan Pickford, who was also beaten in the 36th minute by Baturina. That shot into the left corner ticked off Pickford’s hand.
Bukayo Saka’s pass left plenty of room for Rashford as the Barcelona player entered the penalty area, faked a shot with his left foot and scored his 19th international goal with his right.
“I loved the second half, all of it,” Tuchel said. “I encouraged them to go for it. To play with more courage, to be brave, to be ourselves. And like I said, I loved their reaction.”
England next plays Ghana in Foxborough, Massachusetts, in Group L on Tuesday, the same day Croatia plays Panama in Toronto.
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup