Harry Kane was given a reprieve by VAR before he put England ahead from the penalty spot against Croatia in their opening game of the World Cup.The Three Lions were awarded an early spot kick when Noni Madueke was fouled by Luka Modric inside the box as he attempted to clear the ball but instead clattered into the Arsenal winger. However, as Kane stepped up, he stuttered and Croatia keeper Dominik Livakovic dived the right way and saved his effort, much to the disbelief of England fans.Referee Clement Turpin paused the restart due to a VAR check though, and it was adjudged that Livakovic had encroached off his line, meaning Kane would be given another opportunity from 12 yards.Kane made no mistake the second time around as he went the same way and buried his effort in the bottom right corner.From the first spot kick, Kane stuttered in his run-up and Livakovic, one of the heroes of Croatia’s run to the semi-finals at the 2022 World Cup, pulled off a brilliant save low to his left.Drama here in Arlington, Texas, as England captain Harry Kane has his initial penalty saved by Croatia keeper Livakovic before referee orders the spot kick to be retaken… pic.twitter.com/qk9FlNEOtc— Layth (@laythy29) June 17, 2026 Harry Kane put England 1-0 ahead against Croatia after scoring from a retaken penalty Croatia keeper Dominik Livakovic saved Kane’s initial effort but he had encroached off his line Livakovic made a brilliant initial stop from Kane’s first penalty but couldn’t save the retakeKane appeared to spot the Croatian keeper’s movements immediately and pleaded with the referee.After a short VAR check, Turpin signalled that the England captain would be handed another chance. And, on his second attempt, Kane didn’t bother with a stutter and thumped his effort straight into the corner to score his 80th goal for England. Speaking on BBC’s coverage of the game, Three Lions legend Wayne Rooney said: ‘Harry Kane’s first penalty wasn’t the best but at first glance I thought the keeper was off his line. It didn’t show a replay which confirmed it.’But Kane’s second penalty was much better and it’s great for England to be 1-0 up after 12 minutes.’Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson added: ‘That’s better Harry, that’s how you take them.’Same side, same strike but much better contact. The goalkeeper tried to read him and thought he’d go the other side but he didn’t.’Meanwhile, Lee Dixon praised Kane’s bravery on ITV Sport as he said: ‘That takes a huge amount of courage to step up again, and go through the process again. ‘Kane pulls at his socks, looks down, no stutter this time. 1-0 England.’Kane, who famously missed a spot kick against France in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals, has now scored five penalties at a World Cup, the most in the tournament’s history.His strike also made him just the second England player to score at three separate World Cups after David Beckham. Can YOU master Craig Hope’s World Cup quiz? Test your knowledge HERE