Preview: Croatia vs Belgium - prediction, team news, lineups

Two of Europe's perpetual bridesmaids go head-to-head in an international friendly on Tuesday, as Croatia welcome Belgium to the Stadion Rujevica.

Both the Chequered Ones and the Red Devils are ramping up their preparations for another shot at World Cup glory in North America, following a handful of agonising near-misses in previous major tournaments.

Match preview

Frequently on the podium but never the prizewinners, Croatia will head across the Atlantic boasting two silver medals and one bronze from international competitions in the last eight years; two deep World Cup runs and one Nations League runners-up accolade.

The man who oversaw all of those praiseworthy performances - Zlatko Dalic - is still at the helm, after masterminding a near-flawless qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup, comprising seven wins and one draw in eight matches.

Croatia will soon reunite with regular foes England in the United States, alongside Panama and Ghana in an intriguing Group L; first up is the Three Lions in Texas on June 17.

The hosts' warm-up period for the Mundial commenced in mixed fashion in March, when the Chequered Ones came from behind to defeat Colombia 2-1 in Orlando, before suffering a 3-1 defeat to Brazil at the same venue.

That reverse to Carlo Ancelotti's men snapped Croatia's nine-match unbeaten sequence and four-game winning run across competitive and non-competitive matches, but not since October 2023 - against Turkey and Wales - have Dalic's side suffered back-to-back losses.

One-hundred and six years on from their only major success in senior men's football - a 1920 Olympics gold medal - the 'golden generation' of Belgian football has failed to deliver as intended.

The Red Devils suffered a group-stage exit at Qatar 2022 and a last-16 elimination at the 2024 European Championships, and the man tasked with finally bringing major tournament glory to Brussels has not made a sensational start.

Ex-Lyon and Napoli boss Rudi Garcia boasts seven wins from his opening 12 matches in charge, although his side topped their World Cup qualifying group with an unbeaten record and staved off relegation to the second tier of the Nations League, edging out Ukraine 4-3 in a playoff.

Garcia's side also flexed their attacking muscles in March's 5-2 friendly win over the USA, before a low-key 1-1 draw with Mexico, albeit one that extended their unbeaten run to 11 matches across all tournaments.

The Red Devils have fired in a noteworthy 38 goals in that time - albeit several against lesser opponents such as Liechtenstein - and have avoided defeat in their last four internationals with Croatia, whose last triumph in this head-to-head came in a 2010 friendly thanks to Niko Kranjcar strike.

Croatia International Friendlies form:

Croatia form (all competitions):

Belgium International Friendlies form:

Belgium form (all competitions):

Team News

Luka Modric's age meant that there was always going to be uncertainty over his World Cup participation, but the 40-year-old will wear the captain's armband for Croatia this summer, and he is just four appearances away from hitting the 200 mark for his country.

Modric is one of four centurions in the Croatia squad alongside Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric, the latter of whom is reported to have been struggling with an adductor issue for months, but Dalic has played down such fears.

The Croatia boss has also confirmed that he intends to use a back three on Tuesday, potentially comprising Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol alongside Tottenham Hotspur talent Luka Vuskovic.

Belgium coincidentally have four 100+ cap players in their World Cup ranks too, as Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Axel Witsel and Thibaut Courtois have all been called up by Garcia, the former in spite of repeated injury issues in 2025-26.

Lukaku - who memorably missed several gilt-edged chances against Croatia at the 2022 World Cup - made just seven appearances for Napoli last season and has not seen the field since March due to a muscular problem, so the uncapped Matias Fernandez-Pardo may be considered for his full debut up front instead.

Highly-rated Sporting Lisbon defender Zeno Debast has also been selected despite a recent thigh injury, but Arsenal's Leandro Trossard is unlikely to be involved on Tuesday so soon after the Champions League final.

Croatia possible starting lineup:

Livakovic; Pongracic, Vuskovic, Gvardiol; Stanisic, Modric, M. Pasalic, Perisic; Kramaric, Baturina; Budimir

Belgium possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Castagne, De Winter, Theate, De Cuyper; Tielemans, Witsel; Saelemaekers, De Bruyne, Doku; Fernandez-Pardo

We say: Croatia 1-1 Belgium

Belgium's recent goalscoring exploits may count for little against Croatia's three-man central defensive setup, especially with Lukaku also lacking fitness and Kevin De Bruyne entering on the back of his own disrupted campaign.

As both camps will also strive to avoid further injuries before the World Cup begins, a low-key draw appears a likely outcome.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.