England vs Croatia Preview

Group L’s headline fixture takes place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Wednesday evening as England take on Croatia in one of the most eagerly anticipated matchups of the opening round. These sides carry recent history into this encounter — two World Cup semi-finals and two major tournament group stage meetings within the last decade — and both arrive knowing that a strong start is essential in a group that also contains Ghana and Panama.

England head into this tournament opener in solid form across their last five outings. Their most recent outing was a dominant 3–0 home win over Costa Rica — a commanding performance that demonstrated attacking intent and clean-sheet quality just seven days before the World Cup. Prior to that, they won 1–0 at home against New Zealand. Before that, they suffered a 1–0 home defeat to Japan — their one blemish in an otherwise productive run. Earlier in this run, they drew 1–1 at home against Uruguay, and the sequence began with a 2–0 away win in Albania. Three wins, a draw and a defeat — England arrive with genuine belief that this squad, built around Kane, Bellingham and a creative supporting cast, is capable of going all the way.

Croatia come into this opener with a more mixed record but showed good form in their most recent match. Their most recent outing was a 2–1 home win over Slovenia — a composed performance that ended their pre-tournament preparation on a positive note. Prior to that, they lost 2–0 at home to Belgium. Before that, they suffered a 3–1 defeat away in Brazil. Earlier in this run, they won 2–1 away in Colombia, and the sequence began with a 3–2 away win in Montenegro. Three wins and two defeats — Croatia have shown the quality to beat sides on the road but have looked vulnerable against higher-ranked opposition. With Modric approaching the end of his international career, this may well be his last World Cup, and he will be desperate to leave his mark on the tournament.

The head-to-head record favours England, who have won three of the last five meetings, with one draw and one win for Croatia. Most recently, England won 1–0 at home against Croatia at Euro 2021 in June 2021. In the previous encounter, England won 2–1 at home in a Nations League match in November 2018.

This is one of the group’s most compelling fixtures. England carry superior recent momentum and individual quality in Kane and Bellingham, but Croatia’s tournament experience and Modric’s ability to control the tempo make them far from straightforward opponents. A tight, competitive encounter is likely, with England’s depth in attack giving them a narrow advantage over the course of ninety minutes.

In the UK, the match is live on ITV 1 and available to stream via ITVX, with STV and STV Player also carrying the fixture in Scotland. In Ireland, viewers can watch on ITV 1 and RTE 2. In the United States, the game is available on the FOX Network, fuboTV and Telemundo.

Lineups & Injuries

England (4-2-3-1) Pickford, James, Konsa, Stones, O’Reilly, Anderson, Rice, Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon, Kane

England: No injury concerns reported.

Croatia (4-2-3-1) Livakovic, Gvardiol, Pongracic, Erlic, Stanisic, Kovacic, Modric, Perisic, Kramaric, Pasalic, Budimir

Croatia: No injury concerns reported.

Both squads appear to be at full strength for this Group L opener, setting the stage for a genuinely competitive encounter between two well-matched and well-organised sides.

Group L

Pos	Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Croatia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	England	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Ghana	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Panama	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

England Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	England	3 – 0	Costa Rica	International Friendly	Jun 10, 2026
✅	England	1 – 0	New Zealand	International Friendly	Jun 6, 2026
❌	England	0 – 1	Japan	International Friendly	Mar 31, 2026
🤝	England	1 – 1	Uruguay	International Friendly	Mar 27, 2026
✅	Albania	0 – 2	England	International Friendly	Nov 16, 2025

Croatia Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	Croatia	2 – 1	Slovenia	International Friendly	Jun 7, 2026
❌	Croatia	0 – 2	Belgium	International Friendly	Jun 2, 2026
❌	Brazil	3 – 1	Croatia	International Friendly	Apr 1, 2026
✅	Colombia	1 – 2	Croatia	International Friendly	Mar 26, 2026
✅	Montenegro	2 – 3	Croatia	International Friendly	Nov 17, 2025

Head to Head

Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
England	1 – 0	Croatia	European Championship	Jun 13, 2021
England	2 – 1	Croatia	Nations League	Nov 18, 2018
Croatia	0 – 0	England	Nations League	Oct 12, 2018
Croatia	2 – 1	England	World Cup	Jul 11, 2018
England	5 – 1	Croatia	World Cup	Sep 9, 2009

TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
Great Britain	ITV 1, ITVX, STV, STV Player
Ireland	ITV 1, RTE 2, ITVX, RTE Player
USA	FOX Network, fuboTV, Telemundo, FOX One
Croatia	HRT 2, MAXtv To Go, HRTi
Germany	ZDF, SRF zwei, MagentaTV
France	M6, beIN Sports 1, M6+, Molotov
Brazil	SporTV, Globo, Globoplay, CazéTV
Italy	DAZN Italia, RAI 1, RaiPlay
Canada	TSN+, TSN1, CTV App
Japan	DAZN Japan