England Vs Croatia Preview

Few international rivalries have developed as quickly or as dramatically as England-Croatia. For England supporters, memories of 2018 still linger, whilst Croatia aim to start their campaign strongly against the Three Lions. At Racing TV, we have previewed all of England’s fixtures in the World Cup, looking at the opponents they will face, how the game might pan out, and what betting angles to look for. 

Here, we are looking at the matchup against Croatia, the first fixture of the World Cup for both sides. Two of the favourites for the Group, let's dive into the opening fixture for the Three Lions.

England Vs Croatia opens Group L at the 2026 World Cup on Wednesday, June 17th, with the two sides meeting at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. As previously mentioned, there is a history to this matchup, as the two sides have met plenty of times, with the most notable being in 2018 at Russia, as Croatia came from behind in extra time to make it to the final. Eight years later, these two start their World Cup campaigns against each other.

With England bringing a different squad under Thomas Tuchel, they still aim to be at the sharp end of the tournament, as they are listed as one of the favourites. However, Croatia still remain an awkward opponent, as their squad may be ageing, but is still filled with quality. As the group also features both Ghana and Panama, whoever wins this fixture could see themselves finishing top of the group, which could land some favourable draws later on.

Despite Croatia being a strong team, this fixture seems suited to England, as they dominate the ball well, manage the tempo and should be able to deal with the Croatian threats. However, this is not a game we can see England scoring many in, as Croatia still remains rigid and strong in defence. 

A trend we seem to see with England is winning by one or two goals, and this is what we imagine will happen here. Whilst an upset is not off the cards, as Croatia have a strong team, England are still placed as the favourites for the game, with odds of 8/11 to be victorious. 

As this is only a prediction, it is vital to think about other possibilities; we have seen Croatia beat England before. With England’s strong defence, we cannot see them conceding many chances, but with players like Modric and Perisic, they can create opportunities out of nowhere. 

With this matchup being the first of the group, it will attract plenty of attention from football bettors, and we are going to look at some tips that you can use when betting on England Vs Croatia. It is important to remember that these are just tips and are not guaranteed to come in. Always remember to do your own research on football matches, as this can be useful when it comes to deciding on your bets.

These betting tips can either be used as single selections or they can be placed in a bet builder to receive longer odds, yet bet builders create more risk, as all selections have to be successful.

With England being the side to beat in this group, Croatia will be looking to start the tournament well by sending out a statement, but we think England might just have too much quality for them. If you are looking to place bets on this fixture, check out our World Cup free bets, as these betting offers can be used to make the most of this tournament. 

To learn more about betting, we have our betting guides page, which is full of vital information on all things betting.