England vs Croatia – Match preview and team news | OneFootball

England begin their World Cup campaign with a highly anticipated Group L clash against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday evening.

Thomas Tuchel’s side enter the tournament carrying immense expectations after a flawless and historic qualification campaign. The Three Lions won all eight qualifying fixtures without conceding a single goal to secure their spot. However, recent friendly slip-ups against Uruguay and Japan have raised minor questions before the tournament begins.

Croatia remain one of international football’s most consistent and battle-tested tournament teams on the global stage. Zlatko Dalic’s side reached the semi-finals at each of the last two World Cups with immense resilience. They won seven of their eight qualifiers to comfortably top their group ahead of this summer’s festival. Memories of their famous 2018 extra-time semi-final victory over England will inspire the Chequered Ones in Texas.

England vs Croatia – Match preview and team news

Team news

England

Tino Livramento withdrew from the squad with a calf injury sustained during a recent training session. Tuchel called up Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah as his replacement to provide essential defensive cover. Manchester City youngster Nico O’Reilly is expected to earn a surprise start at left-back.

Jude Bellingham will likely start in the number 10 position over Morgan Rogers to support Harry Kane. Noni Madueke could start on the right flank if Bukayo Saka fails a late fitness test. Anthony Gordon looks set to feature on the left wing ahead of Marcus Rashford.

Croatia

Dalic boasts a fully fit squad after several key players recovered from recent injury scares. Luka Modric is ready to start after recovering completely from a cheekbone fracture sustained in April. Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic have also shaken off knocks suffered during their domestic campaigns.

Duje Caleta-Car returned to training following a back issue to boost defensive choices. In attack, Dallas striker Petar Musa could start ahead of veteran forward Andrej Kramaric. Teenage defender Luka Vuskovic will likely join Josip Sutalo and Gvardiol in a back three.

Form

England

England secured their place in North America by winning all eight of their qualification matches. They became the first UEFA nation to qualify while keeping eight consecutive clean sheets. That said, mixed friendly results in March brought the team back down to earth. They suffered a historic loss against Japan before bouncing back to defeat Costa Rica. The Three Lions have lost only one of their last eight World Cup opening fixtures.

Croatia

Croatia dropped just two points during an unbeaten qualification run to top Group L. They want to banish the memories of a disappointing group-stage exit at Euro 2024. Dalic’s side prepared with mixed friendly results, losing to Brazil before beating Slovenia late on. The Vatreni remain unbeaten in group-stage matches across the last two World Cups. However, they have won only one of their last five tournament openers.

Predicted lineups

England Predicted XI: Pickford; James, Stones, Konsa, O’Reilly; Anderson, Rice; Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane

Croatia Predicted XI: Livakovic; Sutalo, Vuskovic, Gvardiol; Stanisic, Modric, Kovacic, Perisic; Sucic, Baturina; Musa

How to watch England vs Croatia?

In the United Kingdom, the entire match will be broadcast live on ITV1 and can be streamed via ITVX. Football fans in the United States can watch the live coverage on Fox Sports.

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