Harry Kane says 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 in their World Cup opener.

The Bayern Munich 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.

This is not an automatic retake, as the defender must impact an opposition attacker.

Madueke was behind Gvardiol, so by clearing the ball he prevented the Arsenal winger from getting a shot from the rebound.

Kane duly despatched at the second attempt.

Kane’s previous with retaken penalties
Interestingly, Kane had a similar penalty saved for Bayern Munich in the Champions League against Atalanta earlier this season.

Afterwards the forward said he had seen that the goalkeeper liked to come off his line, adding: “I knew that if I stopped, there was a good chance he’d come too far forward. And that’s exactly what happened.”

Following Kane’s penalty against Croatia, former Three Lions defender Conor Coady told 5 Live: “He can take any sort of penalty. He is that good at penalties.

“That is really clever if that is something he is thinking of, if he is watching other keepers and how they move and what they do, that is a really clever thing to do.

“He must’ve practiced, he’s obviously looked at the keeper.”

Former Spurs and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson added: “It has worked for him. The goalkeeper has come off his line but the interesting thing is he stuck to that technique for the next one.

“I have seen him do it this season before and I think his confidence and where he’s at at the moment, you can’t question him.

“The actual strike of the penalty was too close to the goalkeeper. Even if the goalkeeper hadn’t tried to seek the advantage he would have still saved it.

“You look at the way he learned from the first penalty, was brave enough to go the same way and this one was much closer to the corner. He’ll have practised many penalties going into this tournament.”

On “The Rest is Football” podcast, Manchester United center-back Maguire discussed how Tuchel informed him via video call that he had not been selected for the World Cup squad.

Maguire revealed: “He (Tuchel) video-called everyone. It was quite an awkward call. I first received a message asking if he could talk to me around 4 PM. It was quite a unique approach, and certainly difficult, because he could see everyone’s reactions.

“I said directly that I was really very disappointed. I felt I had done well enough to deserve to be in the squad, and I felt I could have helped the team, playing a role on and off the pitch. He said he couldn’t give me any excuses, but he chose the four players who had helped him through a difficult period last autumn.

“It was hard to accept. After being called up by him for the first time in the March training camp, I did think I would be in the squad. I performed well in both games and then returned to Manchester United, finishing the season with a very strong performance.”

Tuchel ultimately chose to take Stones, Guehi, Konsa, Quansah, and Dan Burn to the World Cup.

No Plans to Retire from England Duty
Furthermore, even with Tuchel’s contract extending to Euro 2028, Maguire is unwilling to close the door on playing for England.

He added: “I don’t think I’ll retire from England duty. I still feel I can shine. Sooner or later there will be a time and a point where I no longer deserve to be selected for England, but even then, I most likely won’t proactively step out and announce my retirement. If I can play for England one more time, it will all be worth it.”

Maguire will use the off-season to fully recover and prepare for Manchester United’s return to the Champions League in the 2026-27 season. While his England teammates face the immense pressure of a major international tournament, the experienced defender will strive to maintain his excellent club form. If he is to earn a recall to the England squad later this year, proving his endurance in the Premier League remains crucial.

Tunisia head coach Sabri Lamouchi has been sacked after defeat on World Cup opening game against Sweden.

Plans are under way ‌to appoint ‌Mondher Kebaier as the new national team ‌coach on an interim basis, Federation confirm.

A statement released on the Tunisian FA Instagram read:

“An agreement has been officially reached to dismiss coach Sabri Lamouch.

“Plans are under way ‌to appoint ‌Mondher Kebaier as the national team ‌coach [on an interim basis].”

Tunisia play Japan in their second group game on Saturday before facing the Netherlands.