England face Croatia on 17 June 2026 in the opening match of FIFA World Cup 2026 Group L at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with kick off at 4pm local time (9pm UK), in a group that also includes Ghana and Panama. England enter ranked in the top five globally and unbeaten through qualifying, while Croatia, ranked around 11th, arrive having reached the final in 2018 and finished third four years later.
Thomas Tuchel took charge of England in October 2024, with his contract extended after a successful qualifying campaign, whereas Zlatko Dalic has led Croatia since October 2017, guiding them to their two best ever World Cup finishes. The pair have not met in senior management, with Tuchel new to international football and Dalic now seven years into his tenure.
England came through qualifying unbeaten and backed that up with pre tournament friendlies that were largely encouraging, including a 3-0 win over Costa Rica and a 1-0 victory against New Zealand. Their results in the March and June 2026 windows were mixed, with losses to Belgium and Brazil, though their unbeaten qualifying record and the goals scored during that campaign offer a better measure of where this side is. Croatia won seven of their eight qualifiers, though recent friendlies exposed some defensive vulnerability.
England have no major pre tournament injury concerns, though Rice and Saka are being managed carefully and are both expected to feature. The full 26-man squad is available with no suspensions. Tuchel's flexible 4-2-3-1 points to Jordan Pickford in goal, Reece James or Tino Livramento at right back, John Stones or Marc Guehi alongside Ezri Konsa or Jarell Quansah in central defence and Nico O'Reilly or Djed Spence on the left. Rice partners Elliot Anderson or Kobbie Mainoo in midfield, with Saka, Bellingham and Anthony Gordon or Marcus Rashford behind Harry Kane.
Croatia list Modric with a cheekbone fracture but he remains in the squad and is expected to play, possibly with some careful management around his minutes, while Duje Caleta-Car carries a minor doubt. Their predicted 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 sees Dominik Livakovic in goal, a back four of Josip Stanisic or Josko Gvardiol, Josip Sutalo or Caleta-Car and Marin Pongraci or Martin Erlic, with Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Mario Pasalic in midfield and Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric and Nikola Vlasic or Petar Musa forward.
England play a possession based game under Tuchel with Premier League intensity, pressing hard and using 3-2-5 or 2-3-5 shapes in build up where full backs push high or tuck inside. Kane drops deep to link play while the team focuses on counter pressing and exploiting space behind the opposition's defensive line, with Stones comfortable stepping into midfield. Croatia under Dalic look to control games through Modric setting the tempo from deep, with Gvardiol leading the back line and Perisic and Kramaric ready to punish teams on the break.
The midfield battle is the one to watch: Bellingham, Rice and Anderson against Modric, Kovacic and Pasalic, with the age and style differences between the two groups making it one of the more compelling individual contests of the group stage. Saka and Gordon against Croatia's full backs could be where England's best chances come from and the Kane vs Gvardiol duel in the air and in behind is as intriguing as any match up on the pitch.
England lead the all time head to head across around 11 meetings with six wins to Croatia's three and two draws. Recent competitive meetings include England's 1-0 win at Euro 2020 and victories in the Nations League, though Croatia famously ended England's 2018 World Cup campaign with a 2-1 extra time win in the semi-final.
England should dominate possession and create plenty of chances, though Kramaric and Perisic are a threat on the counter and Gvardiol and Sutalo are both aerially strong from set pieces, with no notable weather concerns for Arlington adding any further complexity.
England 2-1 Croatia. Tuchel's side should control the match through superior depth and pressing intensity, with Kane or Bellingham likely to find the net but Modric's ability to dictate tempo and Croatia's experienced back line make this a tighter proposition than the gap in rankings suggests.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
