Petar Musa scores for Croatia in World Cup loss to England near his MLS home

Croatian striker Petar Musa scored in his World Cup debut on Wednesday, netting a tying goal in the final moments of the first half as Croatia fell to England 4-2 in a match played in Arlington, Texas—not far from where he plays for Major League Soccer's Dallas club.

Musa's goal came via a well-executed team move in the waning moments of the first half. With Croatia trailing 2-1, teammate Mario Pasalic sent a through ball to Ivan Perisic, who headed it toward Musa. The 28-year-old striker volleyed the ball past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford before the halftime whistle sounded. Despite the goal, Musa expressed mixed emotions about the result. "The feeling was incredible to score a goal here at home, but I'm not happy because we lost the game," he said. "There's not much to celebrate because we lost the game."

England extended its lead early in the second half when Jude Bellingham scored two minutes into the period. Croatia coach Zlatco Dalic substituted Musa out in the 66th minute, replacing him with Igor Matanovic. Musa acknowledged the decision, saying he was fatigued after an intense effort on the pitch.

Musa's World Cup goal made him the third MLS player to score for a European team in the tournament, joining Gareth Bale of Wales and Xherdan Shaqiri of Switzerland. The Dallas forward has been prolific in the U.S. league, having scored 46 goals across his three-year career there. This season, he is tied with Inter Miami's Lionel Messi for second in the MLS with 12 goals, and has tallied 32 goals across all competitions in the Dallas area.

Musa became the third Dallas player to appear in the World Cup, following Louicius Deedson of Haiti earlier this year and Jesús Ferreira, who represented the United States four years ago.