Clinton Morrison reflects on a lively start to the World Cup, sharing his thoughts on England’s victory over Croatia and weighing in on some of the controversial refereeing moments during the opening matches.

The obvious place to begin this week is England’s 4–2 triumph over Croatia. Morrison felt England were superb after the break, playing with great energy and tempo. The first half, he noted, was decent but lacked spark, and assistant coach Anthony Barry’s visible frustration during his half-time analysis on ITV highlighted that sentiment.

England responded brilliantly in the second half and could easily have scored more. Morrison described it as a strong opening statement from Gareth Southgate’s men, though he admitted conceding twice was slightly worrying. Still, he emphasised that Croatia have quality players, and such lapses can happen against a team of their calibre.

England appeared somewhat tense at the beginning, and Morrison confessed his surprise that Marc Guéhi did not start. In his view, Guéhi is England’s top centre-back. Thomas Tuchel instead opted for John Stones and Ezri Konsa. Morrison cautioned that stronger teams could expose England’s defensive frailties, yet pointed out that England’s attacking depth will trouble opponents, especially with Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Morgan Rogers coming off the bench on Wednesday.

Among the standout performers, Jude Bellingham caught Morrison’s eye. He praised Bellingham’s determination, competitive spirit, and defensive efforts, lauding his constant drive to win. Morrison expressed disbelief at the criticism Bellingham sometimes receives, insisting he is simply a player driven by victory. “He’s world-class,” Morrison said, “and he proved it once again.”

Bellingham’s inclusion meant Rogers missed out, which Morrison felt was justified given the need for experience in major tournaments. He believes Bellingham fully earned his starting role in the number 10 position, calling him a player who always delivers on the big stage.

With all the major nations having now played, Morrison noted that several intriguing storylines have already emerged. Spain’s draw with Cape Verde was a huge surprise, though they were without Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams. Cape Verde’s goalkeeper, Vozinha, was outstanding, transforming from an unknown figure into one of the early stars of the tournament.

Almost every superstar has found the net so far, except Cristiano Ronaldo, whose Portugal side were held by a resilient DR Congo. On the other hand, Lionel Messi’s hat-trick for Argentina was described by Morrison as “phenomenal.” He felt Argentina looked commanding and cohesive as a team.

Senegal made life difficult for France early on, but Didier Deschamps’ side showed their class, led by Kylian Mbappé, who scored twice and was arguably unlucky not to win a penalty. Morrison felt Sadio Mané’s challenge on Mbappé should have been punished, saying, “I said straight away, that’s a stonewall penalty.” He argued that Mané failed to touch the ball and that Mbappé’s trailing leg had nowhere else to go.

Morrison labelled it a poor decision and also criticised the two red cards shown to South Africa in their opener against Mexico. Themba Zwane’s dismissal for swinging an arm and Yaya Sithole’s sending-off for denying a goalscoring opportunity against Brian Gutiérrez both seemed harsh to him. Sithole, Morrison observed, didn’t stop a clear chance as there were recovering defenders nearby. Overall, though, he felt refereeing standards had been decent, noting that “it’s nice we’re not talking about officials too much.”

Looking ahead, Morrison turned his attention to England’s next fixture against Ghana on Tuesday, urging them to replicate their second-half performance from the Croatia match across the full 90 minutes.

He said he watched Ghana’s game against Panama and thought they lacked spark until Brandon Thomas-Asante came on to assist the winning goal. Tuchel, Morrison suggested, might stick with the same team but also has ample options to rotate. He mentioned possible changes such as bringing in Saka for Noni Madueke or Rashford for Anthony Gordon. There was also a slight concern over Declan Rice, who appeared to pick up a minor knock, which could prompt another adjustment.

Morrison concluded by stressing the importance of fielding the strongest lineup to secure top spot in the group, as finishing first helps avoid tougher opponents later. He believes that if England reproduce their second-half form against Croatia, they will have too much quality for Ghana and Panama in their remaining group games.