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Having breezed through qualifying in typically impressive fashion, England will now hope to mount a credible challenge for silverware. The Three Lions won every one of their eight qualifiers without conceding a single goal, ensuring they finished 10 points clear at the summit of Group K.
A couple of turgid friendly performances derail their early momentum under Thomas Tuchel, who watched his team fail to beat Uruguay or Japan at Wembley during the final week of March. However, England have delivered two positive results since arriving at their training camp in Florida, narrowly defeating New Zealand in Tampa before registering a comfortable 3-0 victory over Costa Rica at a rain-sodden Inter & Co Stadium on Wednesday night.
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Croatia also enjoyed a superb qualifying campaign. Zlatko Dalić’s men only dropped points on one occasion, drawing 0-0 with eventual group runners-up Czechia in Prague.
The 2018 World Cup finalists have faced a challenging set of friendly opponents of late, but came through these contests relatively unscathed. After edging past Colombia at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium, they were beaten by Brazil in the same arena five days later. A disappointing loss to Rudi Garcia’s Belgium was then followed by a 2-1 win over Slovenia, with both of these matches taking place on Croatian soil.
England vs. Croatia will be televised on ITV and STV, with programming commencing one hour before a 21:00 (BST) kick-off.
England v Croatia – Key information
Date: Wednesday, June 17th
Kick-off time: 21:00 (BST)
Venue: AT&T Stadium, Arlington (Texas)
Referee: Clément Turpin (Assistant Referees: Nicolas Danos and Benjamin Pagès, Fourth Official: Katia Garcia)
VAR:
TV Channels/Live stream: ITV, STV, ITVX, STV Player
Odds: England: 8/11, Draw: 14/5, Croatia: 15/4
Odds provided by bet365
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England team news
Having been carrying an Achilles injury over the past few months, Bukayo Saka is still not quite in peak condition. Tuchel confirmed that the 24-year-old winger is currently playing through the pain barrier, but it appears he’ll be available to start on Wednesday evening.
Saka and his club teammates were permitted to report a week late for international duty following Arsenal’s Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain, so Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, and Noni Madueke should all be feeling fresh.
Although he started both of England’s World Cup warm-up fixtures, the eternal question mark over John Stones’ fitness still lingers. The central defender made just nine Premier League appearances last term, before ending his ten-year affiliation with Manchester City.
Given the wealth of attacking talent at his disposal, Tuchel has several difficult decisions to make. The German tactician’s biggest conundrum is arguably who to play in the number 10 position, with Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers – who were born just four miles away and eleven months apart from each other in the West Midlands – both staking their claim.
Tuchel may opt to resolve this issue by putting Rogers out wide, where there are also battles for a starting berth. It looks likely that Saka will patrol the right-hand flank, but it’s a coin toss between Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon (if Rogers is consigned to the bench) on the left.
England predicted lineup v Croatia (4-2-3-1)
Coach: Thomas Tuchel
Jordan Pickford (GK); Reece James, John Stones, Marc Guéhi, Nico O'Reilly; Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon; Harry Kane
Croatia team news
Zlatko Dalić is free from any injury headaches, although several of his players have only just returned to action.
Luka Modrić suffered a fractured cheekbone during AC Milan’s goalless draw with Juventus at the end of April, thanks to an aerial collision with fellow midfielder Manuel Locatelli. The six-time Champions League winner featured late on in the Rossoneri’s final Serie A fixture of the campaign, before netting Croatia’s opener against Slovenia last weekend.
Manchester City duo Joško Gvardiol and Mateo Kovačić have now fully recovered from their respective ailments, but both are severely lacking match practice. Gvardiol has only made a handful of appearances since fracturing his tibia in January, while Kovačić played just 126 minutes of Premier League football all season.
Having relied heavily on Andrej Kramarić’s goals during qualifying, it’s not yet clear who will lead the line. Ante Budimir and Franjo Ivanović are possible options, while Petar Musa – whose club side FC Dallas is based less than 40 miles away from the AT&T Stadium – is also in contention.
Croatia predicted lineup v England (4-2-3-1)
Coach: Zlatko Dalić
Dominik Livaković (GK); Josip Stanišić, Josip Šutalo, Duje Ćaleta-Car, Joško Gvardiol; Mateo Kovačić, Luka Modrić; Mario Pašalić, Andrej Kramarić, Ivan Perišić; Ante Budimir
Where to watch on TV or live stream?
ITV are providing exclusive live coverage of Wednesday’s keenly anticipated encounter, which is one of 54 fixtures the network will broadcast throughout the World Cup. Meanwhile, Scottish viewers can follow events in Texas on STV.
The match will also be streamed online via the ITVX and STV Player platforms, with a full replay and highlights uploaded following the referee’s final whistle.
ITV’s regular England commentary duo of Sam Matterface and Lee Dixon will be stationed at the AT&T Stadium, while Mark Pougatch converses with a punditry team of Ian Wright, Gary Neville, and Roy Keane in the studio.
Head-to-head record
The only other World Cup meeting between these two countries took place in 2018, when Croatia knocked out England at the semi-final stage of the competition.
Gareth Southgate’s side got off to the perfect start in that last four-contest at the Luzhniki Stadium, due to Kieran Trippier’s stunning fifth-minute free kick. However, a neat finish from Ivan Perišić – one of six players in Croatia’s current World Cup squad who were present in Moscow – levelled the scoreline, before former Juventus frontman Mario Mandžukić fired home the winner in extra-time.
Nevertheless, England boast the superior overall head-to-head record when it comes to major tournaments. The Three Lions have defeated Croatia in two European Championships, winning 4-2 in Lisbon just over two decades ago, ahead of a slender triumph at Wembley in 2021.
Therefore, Wednesday marks the fourth time these teams have clashed in a major tournament since the turn of the 21st century. The only other country to face England on as many occasions across the same timeframe is Sweden, thanks to being drawn against each other in 2002, 2006, 2012, and 2018.
England v Croatia – Match result odds
The odds, correct at the time of publication, are subject to change. All odds provided by bet365.
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