Croatia welcome England to the Stadion HNK Rijeka on Friday evening in the UEFA Nations League, three months on from their most recent meeting in the World Cup semi-finals.

The Vatreni came out on top in that huge showdown to reach the final of the competition, where they were beaten 4-2 by France at the Luzhniki Stadium.

A number of players have since called time on their international careers since that famous run to the final, however, and Croatia must now pick themselves up from a humbling 6-0 loss at the hands of Spain last month.

Ahead of Friday's visit of England in a behind-closed-doors match, Sports Mole looks at how Zlatko Dalic will set out his side.

On top of having to make do without retired trio Danijel Subasic, Vedran Corluka and Mario Mandzukic, Dalic has also seen a number of players withdraw from this latest squad.

Inter Milan pair Sime Vrsaljko and Marcelo Brozovic are unavailable, while Lovre Kalinic and Borna Barisic have also picked up injuries.

In the absence of Subasic and Kalinic, Dalic must decide which of his rookie goalkeepers to choose from, with Dinamo Zagreb's Dominik Livakovic in line for just a second senior cap.

Dejan Lovren and Ante Rebic are back involved after sitting out the 6-0 loss to Spain, however, and in Ivan Perisic, Ivan Rakitic, Mateo Kovacic, Croatia have one of the most impressive midfields anywhere on the planet.

There is a huge Mandzukic-sized void that needs to be filled over the next few years, though, so one of Ivan Santini or Andrej Kramaric - possibly even both - will need to step up.

> Click here to see how England could line up for this fixture

Written by
Daniel Lewis