England opened their World Cup campaign with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Croatia, but the win has been overshadowed by calls for Harry Kane's controversial penalty tactic to be banned. The Three Lions were pegged back to 2-2 at halftime in their Group L opener in Dallas on Thursday (AEST), after two Kane strikes were cancelled out by Martin Baturina and Petar Musa. England raised the tempo after the break and secured a commanding win with goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford.
Controversy over Kane's penalty
There was a hint of controversy surrounding Kane's first goal, which came in the 12th minute from the penalty spot. Kane's initial attempt was saved, but replays showed Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic had jumped off his line early, prompting a retake. The England skipper then dispatched his second attempt to give England the lead. However, analysts have questioned Kane's stutter-step approach, where he slows his run-up just before striking the ball, making it difficult for the goalkeeper and defenders to avoid encroaching. The slight delay resulted in both the goalkeeper and a defender encroaching.
"(It) should be banned," former Ghana star Kevin-Prince Boateng said on SBS.
Kane himself admitted it was a deliberate tactic. "When I watched the clips I saw he likes to move early, so I knew that there was a chance that if I did the stutter that he would come off the line," Kane told BBC Sport. "I was 80 per cent sure that it was off the line, I wasn't 100 per cent sure, then obviously when it got retaken I changed the technique a little bit. This is all why I do the research, and in the end it worked out nicely for me."
Fans, including England supporters, have criticised the move. "I know it's benefitted England but I think if a player stutters his run up then encroachment/coming off your line should be allowed. They stutter to force the defenders to move, you shouldn't then penalise the defenders for moving. It's a ridiculous rule," one fan said. "Stuttering run-ups should be banned by international treaty," another added. "If you stutter in your run up, then the goalkeeper staying on the line rule should be annulled," a third suggested.
Tuchel's halftime speech inspires England
Meanwhile, Kane revealed that a halftime "message" from manager Thomas Tuchel inspired England. "I thought first half we were OK, but really disappointed to concede the way we did, the way we dropped off," England captain Kane told ITV. "Credit to the manager ... gave us a speech at halftime just to say if we lose we lose, but we lose in our way. You saw that the way we came out in the second half, we came out full gas. They couldn't live with it and that's the level we have to set every game. The first game of the tournament. A great result against a tough side."
Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham added: "It wasn't one of those where there was a big drama – he (Tuchel) wasn't standing up shouting. It was just what the team needed. We have a mature group, we have great leaders in there. Everyone knew the level we had to get to and why we weren't hitting it. We were very clear in the second half and the early goal gave us the platform."
England now play Ghana next Tuesday before facing Panama in their final group game a week on Saturday. "We were too focused on the result, too focused on protecting the lead which we didn't have (any more)," German Tuchel said. "I loved the reaction of the players in the second half. We deserved to win, but it was emotional."
Kane's World Cup record
Kane came into the tournament on the back of a record-breaking season in Germany and equalled Gary Lineker's record of 10 World Cup goals for England. The Bayern Munich striker won the 2018 Golden Boot in Russia when he scored six goals during England's run to the semi-finals, including a hat-trick against Panama. He then bagged another two during the Qatar edition, but missed a penalty against France in the quarter-final defeat. Lineker scored his 10 goals in two tournaments, winning the 1986 Golden Boot with six in Mexico before adding four at Italia '90. With Kane on the board so early, he will be hoping to become the first player to win two Golden Boots and match rivals Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, who both scored braces in their opening matches.
The Texas encounter was one of the games of the group stage, with 70,389 spectators watching Tuchel mastermind a first win against a team in FIFA's top 20.
