ENGLAND are up and running in the World Cup.
And their emphatic win over Croatia last night may be an incredibly good omen for manager Thomas Tuchel.
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England ran out 4-2 winners over Croatia in their World Cup opener Credit: GETTY
Skipper Harry Kane bagged a brace Credit: AP
The Three Lions kicked off their Group L campaign with a 4-2 win at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Marcus were the wow-boys in Texas, with the skipper bagging a brace.
The mood across the nation is a confident one following victory over the always tricky Croatia.
And that confidence might grow a little when fans realise what happened the last time the team won a World Cup game by the same margin.
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That game, of course, was the 1966 final against West Germany at Wembley, which the Three Lions won in extra time thanks to Sir Geoff Hurst further adding to his tally with two goals.
The 4-2 scoreline isn’t an unfamiliar one for England when they play Croatia.
They beat the Vatreni by the same margin at Euro 2004 thanks to a brace from a then 18-year-old Wayne Rooney.
England currently top Group L on goal difference, as Ghana only managed a 1-0 win over Panama.
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England’s last 4-2 win at a World Cup was in the 1966 final against West Germany Credit: Getty
Wayne Rooney scored a brace in England’s 4-2 win over Croatia at Euro 2004 Credit: GETTY
In an interview with ITV, Tuchel said of the win: “The first half was a bit complicated for us, I felt it was a bit nervy.
“The decisions we took, we basically chose to go safe and played too many balls backwards.
“[We were] struggling to find the rhythm, didn’t have the confidence to go through the gaps and find a rhythm with some short passes.
“I just saw a statistic of 33 per cent ground duels won in the first half and 73 in the second half.
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This year’s World Cup is like no other as a record-breaking 48 nations compete to lift football’s biggest prize.
England manager Thomas Tuchel is hoping to finally bring football home after a 60-year drought.
But footballing legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have other plans in what will likely be their final World Cup appearance.
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“So even off the ball, I felt it was not brave enough, not committed enough together.
“I loved the reaction of the players into the second half.
“It was excellent and we deserved to win, but it was emotional, there were a lot of emotions involved, and it took us a while to get going.
“But we did get going and that is positive.”
