Spooky omen is good news for England fans after 4-2 win over Croatia to kick off World Cup campaign

ENGLAND are up and running in the World Cup. And their emphatic win over Croatia last night may be an incredibly good omen for manager Thomas Tuchel. The Three Lions kicked off their Group L campaign with a 4-2 win at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Marcus were the wow-boys in Texas, with the skipper bagging a brace. The mood across the nation is a confident one following victory over the always tricky Croatia. And that confidence might grow a little when fans realise what happened the last time the team won a World Cup game by the same margin. READ MORE WORLD CUP NEWS That game, of course, was the 1966 final against West Germany at Wembley, which the Three Lions won in extra time thanks to Sir Geoff Hurst further adding to his tally with two goals. The 4-2 scoreline isn’t an unfamiliar one for England when they play Croatia. They beat the Vatreni by the same margin at Euro 2004 thanks to a brace from a then 18-year-old Wayne Rooney. England currently top Group L on goal difference, as Ghana only managed a 1-0 win over Panama. Most read in Sport WORLD CUP 2026 FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS In an interview with ITV, Tuchel said of the win: “The first half was a bit complicated for us, I felt it was a bit nervy. “The decisions we took, we basically chose to go safe and played too many balls backwards. “[We were] struggling to find the rhythm, didn’t have the confidence to go through the gaps and find a rhythm with some short passes. “I just saw a statistic of 33 per cent ground duels won in the first half and 73 in the second half. World Cup 2026 - all the info LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED! This year’s World Cup is like no other as a record-breaking 48 nations compete to lift football’s biggest prize. England manager Thomas Tuchel is hoping to finally bring football home after a 60-year drought. But footballing legends Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have other plans in what will likely be their final World Cup appearance. SunSport have got everything you need for the huge tournament LATEST NEWS - Hopes of World Cup bank holiday rise if England lift trophy - Messi breaks down in tears after World Cup goal - Fans claim World Cup is ‘rigged’ after Messi escapes ‘obvious red’ - Tuchel’s national anthem vow KEY INFO - World Cup 2026 full match schedule including kick-off times - World Cup 2026 full squads - World Cup 2026 rule changes - World Cup 2026 prize money VIDEO - Proper Football Daily: Get all the expert analysis each morning - Team Talk – Tactics Exposed: Dive into the tactical talking points TIPS AND BETTING If you click a link in this article, we will earn affiliate revenue. “So even off the ball, I felt it was not brave enough, not committed enough together. “I loved the reaction of the players into the second half. “It was excellent and we deserved to win, but it was emotional, there were a lot of emotions involved, and it took us a while to get going. “But we did get going and that is positive.”