Raheem Sterling finally found his tournament touch when his 61st-minute goal gave England a deserved 1-0 win over Croatia at Wembley in London, while the Netherlands clinched a 3-2 victory over Ukraine in Amsterdam on Sunday.

Sterling, something of a surprise starter after a flat end to the domestic season but a favorite of manager Gareth Southgate, slid home after great work by Kalvin Phillips to end an individual drought that had run through England's three previous major tournaments.

"It feels good. I grew up two minutes down the road, so I knew I had to score here, and it was a great feeling to do it," said the Wembley-raised forward.

"It's for everybody else to get excited and throw their beer around and do whatever they want," Southgate said. "It's brilliant to give that joy to people. But for us, it's on to the next one and preparing for a really tough game on Friday (against Scotland)."

"But I was really pleased with the way we settled so quickly. Big occasion, sweltering hot day, every reason to look nervous at the start, but we didn't. With and without the ball, we were composed. Although it was always going to be a game of few clear chances, we looked the bigger threat throughout," Southgate added.

Flying full-back Denzel Dumfries meanwhile scored a late winner to earn the Netherlands a 3-2 victory over Ukraine in a thrilling Group C opener after the Dutch had thrown away a two-goal lead.

Dumfries rescued all three points for the home team five minutes from time after Ukraine had fought their way back into the match at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam.

The Dutch were 2-0 up with 15 minutes left, only to allow their opponents two quick goals and the chance to share the points before Dumfries headed home a dramatic winner to the delight of the home fans.

Captain Georginio Wijnaldum and striker Wout Weghorst netted within seven minutes early in the second half as the Dutch sought a successful return to a major tournament – after a seven-year absence – in front of 16,000 spectators.

"I am relieved," Wijnaldum said. "Overall, we played a good game, but we gave them two chances in 10 minutes which were two goals. We need to learn that if we play such a match we need to finish it off well. We let them get back into the game and that needs to improve."