Paul Robinson
Former England goalkeeper on BBC Football Daily

Harry Kane was excellent. Look at the numbers he has posted for England season in, season out - he is indispensable. That's how important he is.

I used the word 'Captain Marvel' in commentary. He scored the two goals but he didn't want to talk about it after the game. He only wanted to talk about the team.

He scored the double and in the last five minutes of the game, he is inside his own six-yard box making a block with his chest to deny Croatia a third goal. He is so important for England both on and off the field. And with him in the team, you feel you have a chance.

BBC World Cup pundits Joe Hart and Wayne Rooney analysed Harry Kane's change in techniques for his retaken penalty.

Image source, Getty Images

Harry Kane said he knew his stuttered run-up might draw goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic off his goalline - enabling him to score a penalty at the second attempt in England's 4-2 win over Croatia.

The striker was able to give England the lead from the penalty spot - but only thanks to the video assistant referee (VAR).

After Luka Modric fouled Noni Madueke, Kane stepped up - and saw his first effort saved by Croatia keeper Livakovic. The VAR stepped in to give Kane a second chance because Livakovic was off his line.

"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% sure that it was off the line, I wasn't 100% 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."

At the time a penalty is taken the keeper must have one foot on or above the line, and images showed that Livakovic had moved fractionally too soon. But even if the keeper had stayed on his line, the penalty would still have been retaken.

After Livakovic made the save the loose ball dropped to Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol to clear for Croatia. But he had also moved too quickly and was inside the area when Kane took his first attempt.

You can watch a World Cup 606 with Aaron Paul and former England goalkeeper David James by clicking watch live at the top of this page.

They'll be asking:

• Was that the most refreshing England performance in years?
• Are you worried about the defence?
• Who’s the team of the World Cup so far?

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Harry Kane’s opening goal for England had a hint of fortune to it.

His initial penalty was saved, only for the VAR to order a retake after Dominik Livakovic strayed off his line before Kane kicked the ball.

But second time around, the England captain made no mistake.

Have a listen to what England captain Harry Kane had to say at full-time ...

England

Image source, Getty Images

After his double against Croatia last night, Harry Kane became just the second England player to score at three separate World Cups (2018, 2022, 2026), along with David Beckham (1998, 2002, 2006).

Scoring in his third consecutive World Cup match, he also equalled Gary Lineker with 10 goals overall at the finals, the joint-most of any England players.

Kane has scored more penalties (excluding shootouts) than any player in World Cup history (five).

Kane's double was also only the fourth time an England player has scored two or more goals in the first half of a World Cup game - after Lineker vs Poland in 1986 (hat-trick), and John Stones and Kane against Panama in 2018 (double).

From the collective to the clinical then...

Harry Kane led from the front again for England with two well-taken goals - and that should be a warning sign for everyone else at the World Cup.

Let's take a closer look at yet another superb outing for Kane in England colours.

Joe Hart
Former England goalkeeper on BBC Radio 5 Live

Thomas Tuchel said 'we're going to blow these out of the water'. We have the legs, we have the ability.

He brought them on and it's so good for the squad for the bench to come on and impact like that.

Alan Shearer
Former England striker to BBC Sport

The substitutions in the second half worked really, really well and more than played their part in England winning the game. It was really positive what Tuchel did putting Spence into the right back position and moving James into midfield, then Saka coming on and adding pace, Rashford coming on and getting his goal.

Croatia had to come on to England to try to get the goal back but then that left space in forward positions and England had the pace and quality to finish them off.

Paul Robinson
Former England goalkeeper on BBC Radio 5 Live at Dallas Stadium

The way he made his subs was brave and bold. They came on and affected the game.

The biggest thing I can take from this is that the players who came on gave Thomas Tuchel a real headache and that's the biggest thing for the manager.

Image source, Getty Images

Wayne Rooney
Former England striker

When we were sat there watching the game and I saw the three lads coming on, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Morgan Rogers, I said 'I absolutely love these subs.'

I loved how positive Thomas Tuchel was being because if you sit back and wait for Croatia to come on then it gets nervy. It's brave and shows he's trying to win the game. Then Djed Spence came on and all four involved in that [Rashford] goal, I think it's brilliant.

One of the reasons it remained an exciting game for 90 minutes was because of the positive substitutions Thomas Tuchel made in the second half.

Let's have a look at what the BBC Sport pundits had to say ...

Was it the game of the tournament so far?

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Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer at Dallas Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

England's fans were carried out of the magnificent Dallas Stadium into the warm night air on a carpet of exhilaration after Thomas Tuchel's side delivered a powerful statement of intent.

Harry Kane told his England team-mates to be "free in the mind" and embrace the pressures the World Cup brings – and they took him at his word for good and bad.

This was, whisper it, fun.

England have been a hard watch for much of the recent era, even when reaching the Euro 2024 final and World Cup quarter-final in Qatar four years ago. Those two tournaments were dry fare, despite England progressing deep into them only to eventually fall short.

Sir Gareth Southgate's excellent record showed the ends justified much of the means, but it was rarely done in a style that moved you towards the edge of of your seat.

Not here. Dull this was not - although admittedly not always in a way Tuchel would have enjoyed.

This was a game you could not turn your gaze away from for a second, whether it was watching the cold fury of Tuchel in the first half, then an attacking siege in the second half which led to England's head coach falling into the arms of countryman Jurgen Klopp in the aftermath when he spotted him on the touchline working as a TV pundit.

Read more of McNulty's analysis here

You can watch England v Ghana (23 June, 21:00 BST) on BBC One and iPlayer, or you can listen to live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live.