England struck twice inside the opening 21 minutes as Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham gave them early control against Croatia in the Nations League at Rujevica Stadium in Rijeka.
England captain Kane opened the scoring in the eighth minute after Mark Guehi intercepted a pass from Josko Gvardiol in midfield. Bellingham, the Real Madrid midfielder, then released Bayern Munich striker Kane, who ran through on goal and calmly beat Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
The goal continued Kane’s strong record against Croatia. He scored twice in June when England defeated the same opponents 4-2 in the opening match of both teams’ 2026 World Cup campaigns.
Bellingham doubled England’s advantage in the 21st minute. Anthony Gordon, the Barcelona winger, delivered a low cross into the area, and Bellingham met the ball to score England’s second goal.
England had threatened from the start and came close to taking the lead even earlier when Livakovic saved Gordon’s effort in the third minute.
The two sides began the match level on three points after one win and one defeat from their opening two Group C fixtures in the top tier of the Nations League.
Croatia’s previous match ended in a 4-1 defeat by Spain in the second round of group games. England had also lost to Spain, going down 3-2 in their opening fixture.
The early goals at Rujevica Stadium gave England a significant advantage as they looked to recover from that defeat and move ahead of Croatia in the group.
