There are positives and negatives to take but England did their main job... win

England have plenty of positives and some negatives to take from their opening World Cup game against Croatia, but they did the most important thing: win.

Fans and pundits will talk until they are blue in the face about what England did well and what the Three Lions could have done.

But when onlookers cast an eye over the results from day seven at the tournament, they will see Thomas Tuchel's side beat Croatia - and handsomely at that.

Yes, Niko Kovac's side are ageing, but they are still a team with final and semi-final experience from the last two tournaments.

Either way, England looked dangerous going forward, even without their best right-winger Bukayo Saka starting.

But Noni Madueke, renowned among the Arsenal faithful for his pace and energy, did produce.

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The right-winger looked positive going forward, winning England's first-half penalty and vindicating Tuchel's call to start him.

Harry Kane again showed his quality, with his second goal absolutely superb, drifting into the penalty area from an England corner to head home with poise.

Jude Bellingham got in on the act too, finishing brilliantly after a 23-pass move, including a fantastic ball played through by Elliot Anderson.

And off the bench, Saka and Marcus Rashford combined, with both players showing fantastic composure on the biggest stage of all.

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The benefit Tuchel will notice from this is not only the quality of goals but the number of players involved in them.

Whether coming on as a substitute or making an impact when starting, England fans now know they have a wealth of players who can cause problems - and, vitally, produce goals.

But still, defensive crowds linger. England conceded two goals from virtually as many attacks from Croatia.

Letting in two from comparatively unfancied Croatian forwards will be a concern.

England will need to use their two conceded as a wake-up call - then ignite them as fuel to go on and be more solid at the back and in the midfield.

Tuchel noted as much.

He told ITV after the game: "The first half was nervy and we struggled to find momentum. There were too many passes backwards. Even off the ball, we were not brave enough.

"I loved the reaction of the players in the second half.

"It took us a while to get going, but we did get going and that is the positive."

The experienced England squad appeared to recognise their first-half shortcomings.

And post-game, Three Lions stars drew on the success from the second half as something to focus on.

Bellingham told ITV: "The second half especially, we showed what we're about and the team we want to be.

"I think the first half, we were still a bit nervous and cagey. With the ball, we rushed a bit, but in the second half, we created a nice rhythm, and you saw the best of us.

"The constant level of intensity without the ball was top level; the substitutions that came on were unbelievable. The pressing from the front, we hit the marker there."

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