England opened their World Cup campaign with a thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia, but calls are coming for Harry Kane’s controversial penalty tactic to be banned immediately.

The Three Lions were pegged back to 2-2 at the interval in their Group L opener in Dallas on Thursday (AEST) after two Kane strikes were cancelled out by Martin Baturina and Petar Musa.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: England triumph over Croatia in World Cup thriller

England raised the tempo after the break and won in commanding style after goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford.

But there was a hint of controversy surrounding Kane’s first goal, which came in the 12th minute from the penalty spot.

Kane had his first attempt saved, but replays showed the Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković had jumped off his line early, which prompted a retake.

The England skipper then dispatched his second attempt to give England the lead.

But analysts have questioned Kane’s stutter-step approach with the striker slowing his run-up down just before kicking the ball, which makes it incredibly difficult for the goalkeeper and defenders to not encroach.

“(It) should be banned,“ former Ghana star Kevin-Prince Boateng said on SBS.

Kane himself admitted it was a deliberate tactic.

“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 per cent sure that it was off the line, I wasn’t 100 per cent 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.”

Fans, including England supporters, are not a fan of the sneaky move.

“I know it’s benefitted England but I think if a player stutters his run up then encroachment/coming off your line should be allowed. They stutter to force the defenders to move, you shouldn’t then penalise the defenders for moving. It’s a ridiculous rule,” one fan said.

“Stuttering run-ups should be banned by international treaty,” another said.

“If you stutter in your run up, then the goalkeeper staying on the line rule should be annulled,” another suggested.

Meanwhile, Kane revealed a halftime “message” from manager Thomas Tuchel inspired England.

“I thought first half we were OK, but really disappointed to concede the way we did, the way we dropped off,” England captain Kane told ITV.

“Credit to the manager ... gave us a speech at halftime just to say if we lose we lose, but we lose in our way.

“You saw that the way we came out in the second half, we came out full gas. They couldn’t live with it and that’s the level we have to set every game.

“The first game of the tournament. A great result against a tough side.”

Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham added: “It wasn’t one of those where there was a big drama – he (Tuchel) wasn’t standing up shouting. It was just what the team needed.

“We have a mature group, we have great leaders in there. Everyone knew the level we had to get to and why we weren’t hitting it. We were very clear in the second half and the early goal gave us the platform.”

England now play Ghana next Tuesday before facing Panama in their final group game a week on Saturday.

“We were too focused on the result, too focused on protecting the lead which we didn’t have (any more),” German Tuchel said.

“I loved the reaction of the players in the second half. We deserved to win, but it was emotional.”

Kane came into the tournament on the back of a record-breaking season in Germany and equalled Gary Lineker’s record of 10 World Cup goals for England.

The Bayern Munich striker won the 2018 Golden Boot in Russia when he scored six goals during England’s run to the semi-finals, including a hat-trick against Panama.

He then bagged another two during the Qatar edition, but missed a penalty against France in the quarter-final defeat.

Lineker scored his 10 goals in two tournaments, winning the 1986 Golden Boot with six in Mexico before adding four at Italia ‘90.

But with Kane on the board so early, he will be hoping to become the first player to win two Golden Boots and matched rivals Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, who both scored braces in their opening matches.

The Texas encounter was one of the games of the group stage, with 70,389 watching Tuchel mastermind a first win against a team in FIFA’s top 20.

— with AAP