England 4-2 Croatia – PLAYER RATINGS: Who was Thomas Tuchel’s shining star, who ‘offered far too little’, who was ‘indecisive’ and which two players got just 3 out of 10? Now use our new tool to give YOUR verdict

England finally kicked off their World Cup campaign by beating Croatia 4-2. Harry Kane scored twice in the first half, Jude Bellingham added a third and Marcus Rashford secured the win after coming off the bench.

Thomas Tuchel will be happy to get the three points but will know it is far from perfect for England, who have looked poor defensively and disjointed at times in attack.

So who will stand out from the crowd and turn their hopes of becoming a World Cup regular into the good, and who will be running out of lines and nervous about the team sheet for their next group match against Ghana next Tuesday?

Daily Mail Sport CRAIG HOPE was at Dallas Stadium to evaluate the players…

ENGLAND (4-2-3-1)

JORDAN PICKFORD – 5/10

Baturina’s first goal with his super goal was disappointing but he got it and it wasn’t strong enough. His kicking was good but there was still a feeling of nervousness not associated with Pickford. A couple of good saves at 3-2.

REECE JAMES – 5

He doesn’t appear to be 100 percent, and why would he be after missing two months between March and May? He was slow in Croatia’s second goal and did not offer enough in attack. He probably needs to stay in the team to improve his fitness and confidence. He worked late in midfield.

EZRI KONSA – 3

He got off to a shaky start when he lost the ball twice early on. Also, after Moses was left behind, Pickford was supposed to rescue him. The first half got worse and Perisic left him to score the second goal. This felt like a good game for Marc Guehi and he could replace Konsa against Ghana.

JOHN STONES – 4

He went down very easily after falling behind in Croatia’s first goal. He looked like a defender who had played just 86 minutes in the Premier League in six months. There were some significant improvements as the match progressed. Tuchel can only hope he gets stronger.

John Stones barked orders but had a poor game in England’s World Cup opener in Dallas

NICO O’REILLY – 5

Sometimes you get nervous and worry about him when he’s at left-back against the best. He showed more quality as he stepped inside and used the ball as intelligently as he could. However, he is on the team as a defender and feels like a point of vulnerability. I didn’t make a single tackle.

DECLAN RICE – 5

A great corner for Kane’s second move but he offered little in open play. Where was the control? Bite? He played on the sidelines, as he often did, in tournaments for England. It’s not bad, but it’s well below what it can and should do.

ELLIOT ANDERSON – 7

England needed him early to correct other players’ carelessness, but he became part of the midfield battle in the first half. He was the team’s pick before the break and never hid, but although a through ball led to the third goal, it was not his best.

England’s Elliot Anderson charges Croatia from midfield – it was best in show in the middle of the park

NONI MADUEKE – 6

It was smart to win Modric’s penalty. There was plenty of space in the first half and he saw plenty of the ball but then he couldn’t make enough, although there was a teasing cross for Bellingham. He is very indecisive and lacks quality in important moments.

JUDE BELLINGHAM – 8

Only three touches in the first 15 minutes reflected early anonymity. A few good tackles at 1-0 but they lost the challenge for Croatia’s first equalizer at the halfway point. We performed much better after the first half, strong running and smart finishing were decisive. That’s why he needs to stay in the team.

ANTHONY GORDON – 3

Just the anonymous first half of nine touches. He just couldn’t get into the game and looked like he was playing within himself when he was involved, two dribbles going nowhere.

He didn’t look like Barcelona’s new £70m winger. He’s better than that, as he showed in the last warm-up game.

HARRY KANE-8

God bless Kane! Without him, England loses. But let’s hope we don’t see another increase in stuttering because he was lucky to get the penalty again. He sometimes played as a quarter-back, dropping deep and trying to hold off wingers. But as is often the case, he was where he was needed in the second row.

Captain Kane celebrates his second goal for England against Croatia in Dallas

RESERVES

BUKAYO SAKA (for Madueke 72) – 7

He immediately showed why England needed him in an assist and fourth goal role.

MARCUS RASHFORD (Open for Gordon 72) – 7

He’ll feel like he’s staked his claim for a great ending and beginning to end the game.

MORGAN ROGERS (on for rice 72) – 5

Disciplined in helping see the game but no magic moment.

DJED SPENCE (for Bellingham 80) – 6

He came clearly close to scoring and was lively.

MARC GUEHI (Pieces open for 87) – None

MANAGER

THOMAS TUCHEL – 6

Assistant Anthony Barry described the first-half performance as ‘messy and confusing’ and he wasn’t wrong. This is on Tuchel. Personnel were selected and instructions were not worked or at least not listened to. He got out of prison because of Kane and Bellingham, but he deserves credit for speaking part time to bring about recovery.

Do you agree with Craig’s assessment? Now give your verdicts on every England player who played against Croatia… was anyone worth 2/10? So who was in the perfect 10?

CROATIA

Livakovic 7; Stanisic 4, Sutalo 4, Vuskovic 5 (Pasalic 66, 5), Gvardiol 5, Perisic 6; Pasalic 4, Modric 5 (Kovacic 58, 5), Sucic 7, Baturina 7; Moses 7 (Matanovic 66, 5)

Manager: Z Dalic 5

Judge: Clement Turpin 7