This was an England we haven't seen for years - and it was fun

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.

England's opening 4-2 win against Croatia was a mixture of thrilling attacking football and worrying defensive frailty, but the smiles on the faces of supporters making their way away from this vast arena told another story.

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.

It was football on the edge and England's followers, judging by their reaction at the final whistle and afterwards, loved it.