Raheem Sterling scored the only goal of the game at Wembley Stadium, a venue he grew up in the shadow of and one which will host the semi-finals and final of the tournament.

Austria beat debutants North Macedonia 3-1 in Bucharest, while The Netherlands toppled Ukraine 3-2 in Amsterdam in the best match of Euro 2020 so far.

In London, in front of 22,500 fans, England won their opening match at the European Championship for the very first time.

The hosts started brightly and saw Phil Foden strike the post early on, but Croatia made it to the interval at 0-0 and appeared to be growing into the game.

However Sterling scored after 57 minutes, latching onto a through ball form the impressive Kalvin Phillips just in time to poke past the onrushing goalkeeper.

Croatia struggled to create clear-cut chances and England held on for a 1-0 win which sends them top of Group D.

Over in the Romanian capital, Austria recorded a first-ever European Championship victory after a back-and-fourth match with North Macedonia.

Stefan Lainer gave the Austrians a first-half lead through an impressive volley from a tight angle, but a defensive mix-up allowed 37-year-old Goran Pandev to equalise.

Both sides had chances after the break, but an excellent David Alaba cross set up substitute Michael Gregoritsch to put Austria 2-1 ahead, and fellow replacement Marko Arnautovic added a third late on.

The Austrian opener had also come from a lovely cross, in that case from Marcel Sabitzer.

Austria are top of Group C on goal difference, with the Dutch second following their frantic victory.

A fast-paced first half finished goalless, but it was no surprise to see The Netherlands 2-0 up by the hour mark, with Georginio Wijnaldum and Wout Weghorst on target.

A stunning effort from Andriy Yarmolenko, left-footed and curling into the top corner past a helpless goalkeeper, gave Ukraine hope on 75 minutes and Roman Yaremchuk's header four minutes later had them level.

As both teams pressed for a winner, poor Ukrainian goalkeeping allowed the Dutch to recycle possession in the final third and set up defender Denzel Dumfries to head home an 86th-minute winner.

Off the pitch, it was confirmed that Demark midfield Christian Eriksen, who collapsed during a game yesterday, suffered a cardiac arrest.

Eriksen is said to be in a stable condition in hospital and has spoken to his team mates, who completed the game against Finland, going down 1-0.