Raheem Sterling’s second-half goal gave England a winning start to the European Championships against Croatia at Wembley.
Kalvin Phillips, who more than justified his selection from Gareth Southgate with a fantastic display, picked the ball up on the right flank and beat Duje Caleta-Car before slipping through Sterling who squeezed an effort past Dominik Livakovic.
England began the game in a thrilling fashion, forcing their opponents on the back foot and were unlucky not to take the lead in the sixth minute when Phil Foden saw an effort come back off the post.
Although England could not maintain this momentum throughout the match they still created more chances to extend the lead with Harry Kane and Sterling both guilty of missing chances to enhance the scoreline.
Jude Bellingham made a late substitute appearance to become the youngest player in the tournament’s history, aged 17 years and 349 days.
This was England’s first victory in an opening game in the European Championship at the 10th attempt and will only fuel belief this side can challenge at the business end of the tournament. They have five days now to prepare for their next game against the ‘Auld Enemy’ Scotland, while Croatia will look to kick-start their tournament against the Czech Republic.
