England vs Croatia Match Details
Date | Wednesday 17 June 2026 |
Kick-off | 21:00 BST |
Stadium | AT&T Stadium, Arlington |
Competition | FIFA World Cup 2026 — Group L |
Where to watch | ITV1, livescorebet.com, virginbet.com |
England vs Croatia Match Odds
Outcome | Odds |
|---|---|
England to win | 4/6 |
Draw | 13/5 |
Croatia to win | 18/5 |
*all odds correct at the time of writing
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England vs Croatia Prediction
England won all eight of their World Cup qualifiers without conceding a goal and that trend may well continue in their Group L opener against Croatia. The Three Lions defeated New Zealand 1-0 and Costa Rica 3-0 in their last two friendlies and beat Croatia 1-0 in the group stage of Euro 2020.
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England vs Croatia Match Preview
By James Milton
England kick off their World Cup campaign against Group L rivals Croatia on Wednesday and the Three Lions are favourites to make a winning start in Arlington.
Thomas Tuchel's men cruised through qualifying, winning all eight of their matches against Albania, Serbia, Latvia and Andorra without conceding a goal. England fans have mixed memories of tournament fixtures against Croatia. Gareth Southgate's side suffered a painful 2-1 extra-time defeat when the teams met in the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.
However, they avenged that loss in the group stage of Euro 2020, when Raheem Sterling scored the only goal of the game at Wembley and England went on to reach the final. The Three Lions were also runners-up at Euro 2024, losing 2-1 to Spain in the final, and they are expected to go deep at this summer's tournament in North America.
England are worthy favourites to win a group featuring Croatia, Ghana and Panama and they should be backed to win to nil on Wednesday. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford barely had to make a save during qualifying, such was England's dominance, but he is a proven performer at major tournaments.
Ezri Konsa and the fit-again John Stones are competing for a start alongside Marc Guehi in central defence and left-back Nico O'Reilly had a terrific 2025-26 campaign for Manchester City. Premier League winner Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, a summer transfer target for both Manchester clubs, should have the measure of Croatia veterans Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic in midfield.
And Tuchel is spoiled for choice in attack, hence the omissions of Cole Palmer, Morgan Gibbs-White and Phil Foden. Jude Bellingham enhanced his claims to start in attacking midfield thanks to his performance in England's 3-0 friendly win over Costa Rica, although Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers is another great option.
England captain Harry Kane scored the only goal of their previous friendly against New Zealand and he is a serious contender for the World Cup Golden Boot after another prolific season for Bayern Munich. March's friendly results, a 1-1 draw with Uruguay and a 1-0 defeat to Japan, came when Tuchel was still experimenting with tactics and personnel.
Once he unleashes his strongest team, though, England should be too good for Croatia, who reached the 2018 World Cup final and the semis in 2022. But they failed to get out of their group at Euro 2024, losing 3-0 to Spain before draws against Albania and Italy, who equalised in the eighth minute of injury-time on matchday three.
Modric, the 2018 Golden Ball winner, is now 40 years old and winger Ivan Perisic, 37, and striker Andrej Kramaric, who turns 35 this month, remain key players for Croatia. They lack the zip and intensity of Tuchel's England, whose winger Anthony Gordon looks a good bet to get on the scoresheet.
Gordon scored England's second goal in the recent friendly against Costa Rica and he should be full of confidence after sealing a summer move to Barcelona. Only Kane and Kylian Mbappe scored more Champions League goals this season than Gordon's ten and he also found the net in four of his last eight Premier League appearances for Newcastle.
England vs Croatia Best Bets
Anthony Gordon anytime goalscorer — 33/10
Gordon scored England's second goal against Costa Rica and arrives in superb form after a stellar season for Newcastle, sealing a summer move to Barcelona. Only Kane and Mbappe scored more Champions League goals this season.
England to win to nil — 31/20
England won all eight World Cup qualifiers without conceding and have kept clean sheets in their last two friendlies against New Zealand and Costa Rica. Croatia's ageing attack looks unlikely to trouble Jordan Pickford.
England vs Croatia Bet Builders
Bet Builder 1 — 2.30/1 (£10 returns £33.00)
Selection | Reasoning |
Harry Kane over 0.5 shots on target | England's record goalscorer averaged 2.5 shots on target per 90 minutes for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga |
Andrej Kramaric over 0.5 shots | The veteran forward scored 14 Bundesliga goals for Hoffenheim and averaged 2.9 shots per game in qualifying |
England to win | England won eight out of eight in World Cup qualifying and should be too strong for Group L rivals Croatia |
Under 3.5 goals | Only one of England's last eight matches featured more than three goals and Croatia pose a limited attacking threat |
England vs Croatia Player Picks
Anthony Gordon over 2.5 shots — 6/4
The Barcelona-bound winger averaged 2.6 shots per game for Newcastle in this season's Champions League.
Andrej Kramaric over 0.5 shots on target — 7/10
Croatia's top scorer in World Cup qualifying averaged 1.3 shots per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga this term.
Marin Pongracic to be shown a card — 12/5
Croatia's centre-back is a prime card candidate, having been booked 15 times for Fiorentina in 2025-26.
Declan Rice to register an assist — 7/2
Declan Rice's set-piece delivery helped him rack up nine assists for Arsenal this season as well as four in seven World Cup qualifying starts for England.
Ivan Perisic over 1.5 fouls — 6/5
The Croatia veteran averaged 1.05 fouls per 90 minutes for PSV in the Eredivisie and could have plenty of defensive work to do against England.
England vs Croatia Predicted Line-ups
England (4-2-3-1) J. Pickford; R. James, J. Stones, M. Guehi, N. O'Reilly; D. Rice, E. Anderson; B. Saka, J. Bellingham, A. Gordon; H. Kane
Croatia (4-2-3-1) D. Livaković; J. Stanišić, J. Šutalo, M. Pongračić, J. Gvardiol; M. Kovačić, L. Modrić; Marco Pašalić, Mario Pašalić, I. Perišić; A. Kramarić
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