Janne Palomäki
The English defense does not convince, writes Janne Palomäki from Los Angeles.
Marcus Rashford completes the final tally in England’s win. PDO
– Attack wins you matches, defense wins you championships.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s thought was the first thing that came to mind when England’s players celebrated their World Cup opening victory in Arlington’s magnificent indoor arena.
The 3–2 winning goal scored by Jude Bellingham at the beginning of the second period was decisive in the end, when Croatia could no longer find the energy for a third rise from a losing position.
As Portugal, Spain, Holland and Belgium can confirm, the importance of the opening win cannot be underestimated. It gives an important peace of mind when preparing for the second match of the first group.
But for England, it might not be worth turning a blind eye to how easily Martin Baturina and Petar Musa equalized in the opening period of the match.
It is clear that when the England manager can send Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Morgan Rogers on the field from the bench, no The Three Lions team suffered from inefficiency.
Rashford crowned his own great season by completing the 4-2 final numbers in the 85th minute.
But if this clearly B-level Croatia can practically walk into the scoring area, how will England’s defense hold up with Kylian Mbappé or Leo Messi on board? The checkered shirts hung with the match until Rashford’s star moment.
England went to the Games – once again – looking for their second World Cup. It has never been criticized for lack of self-confidence.
Belief in one’s own possibilities only grows with the victory against Croatia, although the danger signs are just as clearly visible.
The real test for this team will only come in the playoffs. Then the defensive end also has to act much more confidently.