Kane and Bellingham give England early lead against Croatia

Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham struck within the opening 21 minutes as England made a fast start against Croatia in their Nations League meeting in Rijeka.

England captain Kane opened the scoring in the eighth minute at the Rujevica Stadium in the third round of Group C fixtures in League A.

The move began when England defender Marc Guehi intercepted a pass from Josko Gvardiol in midfield. Bellingham then released the ball to Kane, who ran through one-on-one with Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic before finishing confidently.

Kane continued his impressive scoring record against Croatia after netting twice in June during England’s 4-2 victory over the same opponents in the opening match of the two teams’ 2026 World Cup campaigns.

England doubled their advantage in the 21st minute when Bellingham finished a move created by Anthony Gordon. The Barcelona winger delivered a low cut-back into the area, allowing the Real Madrid midfielder to score England’s second goal.

The visitors had threatened from the opening stages, with Livakovic making a save to deny Gordon in the third minute.

Both teams began the match with three points from their first two games, having each recorded one victory and one defeat.

Croatia had lost 4-1 to Spain in the second round of the group stage. England’s defeat came in their opening fixture, when they were beaten 3-2 by “La Roja”.

The early goals gave England a commanding position in a match between two sides seeking to improve their standing in the group.