England finally begin their World Cup campaign tonight. The Three Lions head to Dallas as they kick off Group L against very familiar opponents at the home of the Cowboys. It is a tough opening fixture for Thomas Tuchel’s side, who warmed up for the tournament with wins over Costa Rica and New Zealand. Croatia are one of England’s biggest rivals of the 21st century, defeating them in extra time of the 2018 semi-finals - 10 years after denying them a spot at Euro 2008.
England exacted revenge in their opening game of Euro 2020, but know they are in for another difficult test against Zlatko Dalic’s men, World Cup specialists who continually punch well above their weight and also finished third in Qatar four years ago. Croatia are looking to make one last run with most of a golden generation led by the 40-year-old Luka Modric.
Jude Bellingham starts over Morgan Rogers at No10 for England in a huge call from Tuchel, with Bukayo Saka and Marc Guehi on the bench as Noni Madueke, John Stones, Ezri Konsa and Anthony Gordon all get the nod. Follow England vs Croatia live below, with expert analysis from Standard Sport’s Dom Smith at Dallas Stadium.
England vs Croatia latest news
- England lineup: Bellingham starts at No10
- Croatia lineup: Modric earns 199th cap
- Kick-off time: 9pm BST, Dallas Stadium
- Where to watch: ITV
- Score prediction
Captain fantastic Modric earns 199th Croatia cap
20:11 , George Flood
A few different guesses at that Croatia formation.
ITV have it listed as a 3-4-3, with Gvardiol, Vuskovic and Sutalo as the back three in front of Livakovic.
They have Sucic and Modric in the middle, flanked by Perisic and Bayern Munich regular Stanisic.
They then have Musa joined in the final third by Baturina and Pasalic.
It feels like a very fluid system.
As mentioned, Modric - who turns 41 in September - earns his 199th cap.
His 200th should arrive against Panama in Toronto next week.
Kovacic left out by Croatia in shock
20:02 , George Flood
An interesting starting XI from Croatia, to say the least.
The biggest surprise omission is in midfield, where Mateo Kovacic is left out.
Instead it’s Inter Milan’s Petar Sucic and one-time Chelsea midfielder Mario Pasalic who line up alongside captain Luka Modric.
Highly-rated Tottenham youngster Luka Vuskovic starts at the back alongside Kovacic’s Manchester City team-mate Josko Gvardiol.
Ex-Spurs star Ivan Perisic is in attack, where, as expected, Martin Baturina and FC Dallas forward Petar Musa are preferred to the more experienced pair of Ante Budimir and Andrej Kramaric.
Croatia lineup
19:51 , George Flood
Croatia XI: Livakovic; Stanisic, Sutalo, Vuskovic, Gvardiol; Sucic, Modric, Pasalic, Perisic; Baturina, Musa
No surprises from Tuchel
19:48 , George Flood
Standard Sport’s Dom Smith at Dallas Stadium
So, Thomas Tuchel does as expected and names the same team that started as England beat Costa Rica 3-0 in Orlando in their final warm-up game a week ago.
That means starts for Madueke (over Saka) and Stones and Konsa (instead of Guehi).
Bellingham, Rice and Anderson make up the midfield trio everyone expected to see - but are playing together from the start for only the second time.
England lineup
19:38 , George Flood
The England team is out and as expected...
England XI: Pickford; James, Stones, Konsa, O’Reilly; Anderson, Rice; Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane
Subs: D Henderson, Guehi, Saka, Rashford, J Henderson, Burn, Mainoo, Rogers, Watkins, Eze, Toney, Trafford, Spence, Quansah
Croatia inspect pitch at Dallas Stadium
19:35 , George Flood
The Croatian contingent arrive and survey the pitch at Dallas Stadium a little earlier on, led by legendary captain Luka Modric, who is set to pull just one cap shy of the 200-mark today.
One of a number of all-time greats making his World Cup swansong this summer, along with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, among many others.
Still as influential as ever, aged 40.
Zlatko Dalic: Croatia won't just defend against England
19:28 , George Flood
Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic - who has been in charge of the national team since 2017 - has dismissed any suggestion that his side will simply park the bus in Dallas today.
He has also sought to play down the significance of a fixture against England.
"A tough match awaits us, the start of the World Cup, and the toughest opponent possible,” Dalic said yesterday.
“We've prepared well, and I'd be happy if we show that tomorrow.
"England is an important match, but not a decisive one.
“We know their quality - they are dangerous, especially down the wings, and they have one of the best strikers in the world.
“We will give our best, we won't just defend, we want more. That's how we prepared."
England set to keep same team from Costa Rica game
19:15 , George Flood
The BBC are reporting that Thomas Tuchel is indeed set to stick with the same England team that lined up in their final World Cup warm-up friendly last week - the 3-0 win over Costa Rica in Orlando.
That means Jude Bellingham over Morgan Rogers at No10, Noni Madueke instead of Bukayo Saka on the right, Anthony Gordon over Marcus Rashford down the left and a John Stones-Ezri Konsa centre-back partnership, with Marc Guehi on the bench.
It will be Jordan Pickford in goal as usual, with Reece James and Nico O’Reilly as the full-backs.
Declan Rice will be joined in the midfield engine room by Elliot Anderson, with captain Harry Kane of course leading the line.
Interesting. The lack of Guehi is proving really puzzling to a lot of England fans.
Surely England’s best defender, though Tuchel seems to prefer the Stones-Konsa fit.
England and Croatia fans on friendly terms
19:00 , George Flood
Standard Sport’s Dom Smith at Dallas Stadium
Hello from Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where it is seriously hot and I’ve bought a jumper in case the in-stadium air-con gets a bit too chilly.
England and Croatia fans are friends at the moment. Let's check back in about four hours' time.
Tuchel warns of 'remarkable' Croatia threat in 'difficult' first test
18:56 , George Flood
No England fan needs reminding of the enduring threats that Croatia possess and, as expected, Thomas Tuchel is not taking the challenge lightly as his side bid to make a dream start in Group L ahead of meetings with Ghana (June 23) and Panama (June 27) in Boston and New York respectively.
“It is a very difficult start,” Tuchel said at his pre-match press conference.
“It is an experienced team, an experienced coach, in tournament knockout football. It's a top football nation and a very strong opponent.
“The centre of gravity in their game has dropped a bit, into a back three, we expect.
“From a midfield three, which was the core of Croatia, it has only Kovacic and Modric still there. They're playing in a midfield two now.
“They play with fluid No 10s and wing-backs. But the core is still Modric and Kovacic.
“Then they have Perisic, who is always a threat with the crosses.
“That is one of the most dangerous crossers in world football, maybe – left foot, right foot, he does not even need space to put a cross in. It is remarkable. And they are strong in set-pieces.”
Tuchel explains surprise Chalobah call-up after Livramento injury
18:49 , George Flood
As mentioned, England’s preparations for their opening contest in Group L were disrupted by a calf injury suffered by Tino Livramento in training that is serious enough for the Newcastle right-back to have been ruled out of his first World Cup and flown back home.
While Reece James is widely expected to be Thomas Tuchel’s first-choice right-back at this tournament, it was nevertheless a huge blow to lose a talented young player for the duration before a ball has even been kicked in anger.
Teams at the World Cup are permitted to replace an injured player up to 24 hours before their first game, provided it’s a new issue and his replacement is sought from the 55-man longlist submitted to FIFA last month.
Tuchel chose James’ versatile Chelsea team-mate Trevoh Chalobah as Livramento’s replacement, a decision that some have criticised as they instead championed the cases of the likes of Luke Shaw, Lewis Hall, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harry Maguire.
“We called Trevoh Chalobah up because then we can free up Jarell Quansah and Djed Spence on both sides as full-backs,” Tuchel explained on Tuesday.
“Trevoh comes as a centre-back alternative and gives us full coverage in the back four.”
Chalobah will join the group after tonight’s game in Dallas.
No weather concerns for England vs Croatia
18:37 , George Flood
Though we’ve been okay so far, a number of games at this World Cup are likely to be impacted by the weather.
England got a taster of that ahead of last week’s final warm-up friendly against Costa Rica, which was delayed by an hour due to thunderstorms in Orlando.
There is a heat alert out in Dallas today for searingly hot temperatures, but the players won’t have to worry about any of that.
The conditions won’t have any bearing on this game, with Dallas Stadium one of the four venues at this World Cup with a retractable roof, which will be closed for a fixture that kicks off at 4pm local time.
With a roof closed and the air conditioning on, things should be nice and comfortable for a change, both on the pitch and in the stands.
We will still have a hydration break in each half, though.
England fans arriving at Dallas Stadium
18:28 , George Flood
England fans have long since already been arriving at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, which is known as AT&T Stadium outside of this World Cup.
It is the impressive 80,000-capacity home - reduced to 70,000 for the tournament - of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and host of many other major sporting events including several world championship boxing fights.
It is nicknamed ‘Jerry World’ in the US, in reference to Jerry Jones, the owner of the Cowboys.
Up to 15,000 England supporters are believed to have made the trip to this part of Texas.
They will be sure to make their voices heard today.
England vs Croatia prediction
18:14 , George Flood
For the second time in the last three major tournaments, England open their campaign against Croatia - one of their biggest rivals of the this century so far.
Memories of Mario Mandzukic’s extra-time winner in Moscow to deny them a first World Cup final berth since 1966 will inevitably come flooding back, as will visions of Steve McClaren standing on the touchline under *that* brolly in the Wembley rain after Scott Carson’s blunder saw them miss out on Euro 2008 entirely.
Croatia remain a seriously dangerous World Cup proposition, also finishing third in Qatar four years ago, though notably fell in the group stage at Euro 2024.
England’s opening win at Euro 2020 - and in a crunch Nations League clash in 2018 - should have gone some way to clearing any mental hurdles that may still linger around this fixture.
It won’t be pretty, as England’s tournament openers typically aren’t, but we’re backing them to shade a tight and tense contest thanks to a likely Harry Kane winner.
England to win, 1-0.
Croatia team news
18:10 , George Flood
Croatia look set to spring a couple of selection surprises in attack, with Como’s Martin Baturina and Petar Musa expected to get the nod over the far more experienced duo of Ante Budimir and Andrej Kramaric.
It would be a very special occasion indeed for Musa, who plays his club football with FC Dallas in Major League Soccer (MLS).
Manchester City duo Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic will both start, as should Tottenham’s highly-rated teenage defender Luka Vuskovic - currently subject to plenty of transfer interest after a fine season on loan in Germany with Hamburg.
Luka Modric will pull the midfield strings as usual on his 199th cap, joined by fellow stalwarts such as Ivan Perisic and Dominik Livakovic.
England team news
18:03 , George Flood
As expected, it sounds very much as if Jude Bellingham has got the nod over Morgan Rogers at No10 tonight in Thomas Tuchel’s biggest England selection decision.
There are reports that Noni Madueke will also start on the right flank over Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka, who continues to be managed carefully as the result of a lingering Achilles concern - despite the player himself saying that he will gamble with his fitness and is “ready to go” for the World Cup.
The same reports claim that Anthony Gordon has won the battle with Marcus Rashford to start down the left following his excellent performance in the final warm-up win over Costa Rica last week.
In perhaps the biggest surprise that was also strongly hinted at in that same game in Orlando, it is being suggested that Marc Guehi - who many people regard as England’s best centre-back - is also among the substitutes, with John Stones partnering Ezri Konsa instead.
Tino Livramento has been ruled out of the entire tournament with a calf injury sustained in training, with Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah set to join up with the squad after today’s game.
Where to watch England vs Croatia
17:57 , George Flood
TV channel: In the UK, England vs Croatia will be televised live and free-to-air on ITV1, with coverage starting at 8pm BST.
Live stream: UK viewers can also catch the contest live online through the ITVX app - which is free with a sign-up - or ITV website.
Free highlights: World Cup highlights are available on FIFA’s official YouTube channel and website, along with the ITVX app, ITV website, BBC Sport website and BBC iPlayer.
England vs Croatia live
17:51 , George Flood
The wait is finally over and here we go again as England open another World Cup campaign tonight.
The Three Lions are hoping to end 60 years of hurt in North America this summer, putting their faith in Thomas Tuchel to finally emulate the heroes of 1966.
But they have been handed a tough start in an otherwise favourable-looking Group L as they once again take on familiar foes Croatia, one of their biggest rivals of this century who famously beat them in extra time of the 2018 semi-finals in Moscow - a decade after wrecking their hopes of qualifying at all for Euro 2008.
This is their first meeting since 2021, when Raheem Sterling's second-half goal at Wembley secured a 1-0 victory in their opening fixture of the delayed Euro 2020 finals.
Croatia are approaching the end of a golden generation still marshalled brilliantly by the now 40-year-old Luka Modric, but remain dangerous World Cup specialists who also finished third in Qatar four years ago.
Kick-off this evening is at 9pm BST, so stay with us for all your match build-up, breaking team news and minute-by-minute game updates, with expert insight and analysis from Standard Sport's England correspondent Dom Smith at Dallas Stadium.
