England begin their quest for the 2026 World Cup with a clash against old rivals Croatia in Group L, taking place at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. The match kicks off at 8:00 p.m. GMT (3:00 p.m. local time) on Wednesday.
This marks England's first opening match at a World Cup since 1966, the year they last won the tournament. Under head coach Thomas Tuchel, the squad has sparked debate with the omission of Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, but bookmakers still rate their chances highly, especially with star Harry Kane in the lineup.
Harry Kane, England's captain, is in the best form of his career after winning his second Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich. He told reporters: “This is definitely one of the best opportunities we have to win. Everyone is eager to prove they can go deep.” Kane called on the team to play freely and fiercely, building on their perfect qualifying record.
Croatia, under coach Zlatko Dalic, are no pushovers. The team reached the final in 2018 and finished third in 2022, led by the 40-year-old Luka Modric, who is set to earn his 199th cap. Dalic warned about “goal machine” Kane: “They have the best striker in the world, Kane can do many things. We will try to defend and attack.”
According to the Opta supercomputer, England have a 55.9% chance of winning, Croatia 20.8%, with a draw at 23.3%. England are fourth in the list of title contenders (10.02%), behind Spain, France and Argentina.
The match will be broadcast in the UK on STV, STV Player, ITV1 and ITVX at 9:00 p.m. BST, in Croatia on HRT at 10:00 p.m., and in the US on FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, FOX and Peacock.
On the team news, England will be without defender Tino Livramento due to a calf injury, replaced by Trevoh Chalobah. Croatia have no injury concerns. Expected lineups: England (4-2-3-1): Pickford; James, Konsa, Guehi, O'Reilly; Anderson, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane. Croatia (4-2-3-1): Livakovic; Stanisic, Sutalo, Vuskovic, Gvardiol; Modric, Kovacic; Pasalic, Kramaric, Perisic; Budimir.
Historically, England have won six, drawn two and lost three against Croatia. At World Cups, the sides have met three times, with Croatia's 2-1 victory in the 2018 semi-final being the most memorable.
