England vs Croatia
England’s World Cup 2026 campaign gets up and running on Wednesday when Thomas Tuchel’s side takes on Croatia at the Dallas Stadium in Texas; and the stakes are high for England.
The Three Lions have gone 60 years since winning the World Cup in 1966, but they have been inching closer to success in recent times and the pressure on their young players is immense. And on Wednesday they face a side packed with experience and no little quality; Zlatko Dalić’s Croatia reached the 2018 World Cup final, beating England in the semi-final and there will be a few familiar faces in their ranks.
The home of the Dallas Cowboys will be bouncing for the visit of these two European hopefuls and some of the world’s best players will be on show. The question is: ‘which nation will deliver when the heat is on?’
Talking Points
Feed Harry and he will score
The World Cup 2026 betting odds rate England as semi-final candidates and Tuchel is clearly aiming higher. The Three Lions have reached the latter stages of four major tournaments in a row, semi-finalists and quarter finalists at the last two World Cups while reaching the final at the Euros in both 2020 and 2024. So, they have been knocking on the door and there is one man in the England group who can kick it down.
Captain marvel Harry Kane is vital to England’s hopes and without him I suspect the team wouldn’t have sufficient bite to beat the very best. The country’s top scorer of all time has had another stellar season at Bayern Munich where his 61 goals in 51 games put him in the frame for a Ballon d’Or chance, while ensuring the Bavarians stormed to back-to-back Bundesliga titles. A brilliant finisher, Kane can score the long-range spectacular goals, poach the tap-ins, is clinical from the penalty spot and is one of the best headers of a ball in history. He will get his service from Bukayo Saka and most likely Anthony Gordon, who was impressive in the warm up win against Costa Rica, scoring one goal and assisting another.
As an England fan, I’m looking forward to seeing two young guns; Nico O’Reilly and Elliot Anderson. Manchester City star O’Reilly is a real talent at left back, strong and fast, with superb ball skills and an eye for goal while Nottingham Forest star Anderson has been superb this season in a struggling side, and he will thrive alongside the excellent Declan Rice in midfield.
While Tuchel has the players, led by Kane, who can deliver he will also hope he gets a good deal from referee Clement Turpin. The French official was once labelled as ‘a Grade E ref’ by the England manager… so let’s hope he doesn’t hold a grudge!
Modric is still Croatia’s main man
While England rely heavily on their 32-year-old skipper, the Croatians have a number of thirtysomethings in their first eleven, and a 40-year-old superstar who pulls the strings in midfield.
Luka Modric is the man Croatia will look to for some special World Cup 2026 highlights and the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner is sure to relish the opportunity to prove he is still among the world’s elite. Modric starred for AC Milan last term, and he still has the capacity to open up a defence with his slick passing and movement and the ability to score the spectacular. Manchester City’s 32-year-old midfielder will sit a little deeper than Modric while the 37-year-old Ivan Perisic, now at PSV Eindhoven, will patrol the left flank or play in an advanced midfield role.
The midfield is probably Dalic’s best unit though he does have Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol as his defensive rock and Osasuna hitman Ante Budimir up front, the 34-year-old finished as third top scorer in La Liga this term and he arrives in the USA full of confidence.
History
The Three Lions have won five of the nine previous meetings with Croatia, losing three and drawing one, and the most memorable clash between these old foes came at the 2018 World Cup, when Croatia beat England 2-1 to reach the final in Russia. The last time they met, it was England who came out on top with a 1-0 victory in European competition.
In terms of recent form England have followed up a draw with Uruguay and a loss to Japan with back-to-back wins last week, over New Zealand and Costa Rica; meanwhile Croatia have beaten Colombia and Slovenia, while losing to Brazil and Belgium in friendlies this year.
Betting Tip
England are at SBOTOP odds of 1.73 to kick off their campaign with a winning start, with Croatia out at 4.93 and the draw at 3.57. There have already been some close battles involving top teams in this World Cup, Brazil and Morocco played out a 1-1 draw while the Netherlands drew 2-2 with Japan.
1-1 is the most likely outcome of this game, at a price of 6.60, and as both these teams will surely advance to the knockout phase it would not be a disaster for either.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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