Fifa responds to reports of fans getting into England v Croatia without a ticket

Fifa says it is unaware at this stage of any fans getting into England’s opening World Cup match against Croatia without tickets.

Reports, citing eyewitnesses at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, said scores of fans had breached security and entered the venue without any sort of check.

One witness told Mail Sport: “There were big gaps at the side of the ticket barriers and people just strolled through. There were volunteers who were basically old ladies and they weren’t stopping anyone.”

A spokesperson for Fifa said: “At this stage, we have no indication of fans entering the stadium without a valid match ticket for the game in question.”

The official attendance announced for the game was 70,389, just under the 70,649 official capacity confirmed pre-tournament by Fifa.

The price of tickets for the tournament has been one of the key talking points in the build-up.

The cheapest tickets sold through England’s supporter travel scheme were initially £198 for the Croatia game but, after a fan backlash, Fifa pledged to make 10 per cent of tickets per match within this allocation available for $60 (£45).

England won their World Cup opener in Arlington, with Harry Kane bagging a brace to begin his bid for the Golden Boot in perfect style.

The Three Lions had their captain’s two first-half goals cancelled out by Martin Baturina and Petar Musa, but after stern words from manager Thomas Tuchel at half-time went on to win 4-2.

Jude Bellingham restored England’s lead just two minutes after the restart before Marcus Rashford sealed the points late on off the bench.

England next face Ghana in Boston on Tuesday and a win will qualify Tuchel’s side for the knockout phase.