STAR WORLD CUP PREVIEW Weds: England v Croatia

England’s World Cup open their World Cup campaign against Croatia at MetLife Stadium on Friday in a rematch of the 2018 semi-final, writes JOE CITRONE.

England have won four of their last five, but a late injury blow – with Tino Livramento ruled out with a calf problem on the eve of the tournament – has Thomas Tuchel scrambling, and the call to bring in Trevoh Chalobah as cover has left more than a few scratching their heads.

But up top, Harry Kane is fit, sharp and hunting glory on the international stage. With Bellingham pulling strings behind him, anything looks possible going forward.

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England v Croatia
FIFA World Cup Group D
21:00 ITV1

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
JUN 2021 EURO 2020 England 1-0 Croatia
OCT 2018 NATIONS LEAGUE Croatia 0-0 England
NOV 2018 NATIONS LEAGUE England 2-1 Croatia
JUL 2018 WORLD CUP SEMI-FINAL Croatia 2-1 England (AET)
SEP 2009 WC QUALIFIER England 5-1 Croatia

ENGLAND
JUN 2026 FRIENDLY England 3-0 Costa Rica
JUN 2026 FRIENDLY England 1-0 New Zealand
MAR 2026 FRIENDLY England 0-1 Japan
MAR 2026 FRIENDLY England 1-1 Uruguay
NOV 2025 WC QUALIFIER Albania 0-2 England

CROATIA
JUN 2026 FRIENDLY Croatia 2-1 Slovenia
JUN 2026 FRIENDLY Croatia 0-2 Belgium
NOV 2025 WC QUALIFIER Croatia 3-1 Faroe Islands
NOV 2025 WC QUALIFIER Montenegro 2-3 Croatia
OCT 2025 WC QUALIFIER Croatia 3-0 Gibraltar

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Croatia are a side that always punch above their weight in these tournaments – reaching the final in 2018 and finishing third in Qatar four years ago – and Zlatko Dalic’s side will believe they can do it again.

This may be an aging Croatia side, but it’s still one with immense quality, with the likes of Luka Modric still pulling the strings in the middle of the park.

However, I still fancy England to start with a win, although I don’t think it will be a thriller. I am backing a Three Lions win and under 2.5 goals at 13/5 with starsports.bet.

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