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

England travel to Stadion HNK Rijeka to face Croatia in their third fixture of the UEFA Nations League on Saturday evening.

These two nations meet just under four months after the Three Lions claims a 4-2 victory over the Checkered Ones in their opening group-stage match at the 2026 World Cup.

Match preview

Three days after letting a one-goal advantage slip in a 3-2 defeat to world champions Spain, England picked up their first three points of the new Nations League campaign when they beat 10-man Czech Republic 2-0 in Prague on Tuesday.

Goals either side of half time from Anthony Gordon and captain Harry Kane helped the Three Lions ease to victory, extending their winning streak away from home in the competition to four matches as well as ending their six-game run without a clean sheet.

Thomas Tuchel has now won 18 of his 24 games (D2 L4) as England head coach since his appointment in January 2025, and the German was pleased to see his team produce a “very professional” performance after overcoming an “awkward” encounter.

England will play host to Czechia in their fourth League A Group 3 fixture of this international break, but they must first shift their attention to this weekend’s clash with a fairly familiar foe in Croatia, whom they have beaten three times in their last five meetings since 2018 (D1 L1).

Ranked fourth in the world by FIFA, England are looking to win a fourth successive match against the Checkered Ones for the first time, though they played out a goalless stalemate in their last visit to Croatia in the 2018 Nations League.

Croatia kick-started their Nations League campaign with a 2-1 away victory over Czechia, but they were unable to end Spain’s record-breaking 39-game unbeaten run as they fell to a 4-1 defeat against the world champions on Tuesday.

Dion Beljo cancelled out Lamine Yamal’s early opener just before the half-hour mark, but it took just three minutes for La Roja to regain the lead through Marc Pubill, before two second-half goals condemned the Checkered Ones to their first loss since the return of head coach Slavan Bilic.

The former West Ham player and manager did not hold back in his assessment of Croatia post-match, claiming his players ‘lacked aggression’ and his defence in particular “played badly”.

Sitting 12th in the FIFA World Rankings, Croatia have now conceded in 11 of their last 12 internationals across all competitions, while they have suffered defeat in each of their last six matches against nations ranked in the top 10.

The Checkered Ones return to Rijeka on Saturday for the first time since losing 2-0 to Belgium in a pre-World Cup friendly in June, but they boast an unbeaten nine-game run on home soil in competitive fixtures (W8 D1), last losing on their own turf to Turkey (1-0) in a Euros qualifier in October 2023.

Croatia Nations League form:

Croatia form (all competitions):

England Nations League form:

England form (all competitions):

Team News

Manchester City’s Nico O'Reilly has withdrawn from the England squad due to injury, so Newcastle’s Lewis Hall is expected to continue at left-back.

Ezri Konsa may be fit to return to the starting lineup after watching on as an unused substitute against Czechia. However, Como’s Trevoh Chalobah will hope to keep his centre-back spot alongside Marc Guehi.

Jordan Pickford has had to watch James Trafford start England’s first two Nations League matches, but Tuchel has said that the 91-cap goalkeeper from Everton will be given the next two games between the sticks.

Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham could earn a recall in midfield, while both Alex Scott and James Garner are pushing to start their first competitive match at the expense of Myles Lewis-Skelly.

As for Croatia, defenders Josip Juranovic and Martin Erlic both pulled out from the squad last week due to injury, while Martin Erlic missed the defeat to Spain with a hamstring strain and has since withdrawn from the squad.

Brighton & Hove Albion’s Luka Vuskovic, 19, is a strong contender to replace Marin Pongracic and partner Man City’s Josko Gvardiol at centre-back.

It remains to be seen whether 41-year-old legend Luka Modric will earn a recall after scoring on his last start for Croatia against Czechia. Martin Baturina, who scored against England at the World Cup, is also pushing to start in midfield or attack.

Dinamo Zagreb striker Dion Beljo has netted five goals in his last four games for club and country. After scoring his latest goal against Spain, the 24-year-old will hope to continue up front ahead of Igor Matanovic and Petar Musa, another who scored against England at the World Cup.

Croatia possible starting lineup:

Livakovic; Smolcic, Vuskovic, Gvardiol, Perisic; Modric, Kovacic P. Sucic; Baturina, Beljo, Marco Pasalic

England possible starting lineup:

Pickford; Trent, Chalobah, Guehi, Hall; Anderson, Garner; Saka, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane

We say: Croatia 1-2 England

Given that six goals were scored in the last meeting between these two nations, while six of England’s last seven games have seen over 2.5 goals scored, an entertaining, end-to-end contest could be in store this weekend.

However, with Ballon d’Or contender Kane leading the line for England next to in-form Gordon, and with Bellingham likely to return, we are backing the Three Lions to edge to victory and maintain their place in the top two of League A Group 3.

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