Euro 2020 - England 1-0 Croatia - Match Report
Raheem Sterling scored for the first time at a major international tournament as England start Euro 2020 with a 1-0 win over Croatia.
England vs Croatia - LIVE STREAM
Match Report
Raheem Sterling's first goal at a major tournament saw England get their Euro 2020 campaign off to a winning start, as they beat Croatia 1-0 at Wembley.
Having never won their opening game at a European Championship, England ended the wait to take a big step towards progression from Group D.
In stark contrast to their World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia in 2018, Gareth Southgate's side enjoyed a measure of control throughout, albeit Phil Foden's early strike against the upright was the closest they came until the 57th minute when Sterling broke his tournament duck.
Harry Kane squandered a great chance to double England's lead, but the Three Lions were not made to pay by an ineffective Croatia attack.
The pre-match build up was dominated by whether fans at Wembley would boo the taking of the knee, but the vast majority of spectators seemed well on side with England's players ahead of kick-off.
They were almost celebrating a goal in the sixth minute – Foden's curling effort hitting the post at the culmination of a swift attack led by Sterling.
Dominik Livakovic subsequently had to parry away Kalvin Phillips' volley as Croatia failed to clear their lines amid constant pressure.
England failed to keep the momentum up, and the malaise continued into the second half until, just as the Wembley crowd seemed to grow anxious, the breakthrough arrived.
Phillips made an excellent run to inject pace into a move that looked to be going nowhere, with the Leeds United midfielder keeping his poise to find Sterling, whose first-time finish had too much power on it for Livakovic.
Kane seemed set to make it 2-0 from Mason Mount's cross soon after, only for Josko Gvardiol to do enough to block off the England captain, who tumbled into the woodwork.
Ante Rebic and Marcelo Brozovic lashed wide as Croatia rallied, though chances going begging for Mount and Sterling at the other end failed to lift the visitors, who lost a Euro opener for the first time.
Live Updates
Our pundit Gianfranco Zola likes the look of Mateo Kovačić!
Not long to go now! It's all heating up in London!
We are underway on beIN SPORTS MAX 3.
Croatia are lining up with a 4-3-3 Luka Modric to pull the strings in midfield!
The team news is in for England! Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and Luke Shaw have to settle for a place on the bench, whilst Gareth Southgate starts Kieran Trippier, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden and Mason Mount. Naturally, Harry Kane leads the line.
After the traumatising events of yesterday, it's great to hear that Christian Eriksen is in a stable condition in hospital.
It's a blazing hot day in London, and expectations are high for the Three Lions! England have all three group games at home, can this inspire them to Euro 2020 glory?
So here we go! England expects, an exciting young team against a Croatian side who have lost a few key players who got the better of England in Russia. Who will win out tonight? Let us know in our online vote!
Good afternoon! Welcome to the Live blog for England vs Croatia. The Three Lions kick-off group D against the side that got the better of them in the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-final. Join me for all the build-up, team news and yes even some video highlights from the game.