ALEX CROOK PREVIEW: England v Croatia

It will be another landmark night for Harry Kane as England host Croatia in the Nations League at Wembley on Thursday, writes ALEX CROOK.

⭐ ENGLAND VS CROATIA MARKETS ⭐

England vs Croatia
UEFA Nations League – Wembley Stadium
Thursday 19:45 – Live on ITV1 and ITVX

After being crowned the first English winner of the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen, Kane will eclipse Peter Shilton as the Three Lions’ record appearance holder. In his previous 125 caps, Kane has scored a staggering 91 goals, including a double in England’s victory over Czechia last month on the night he equalled Shilton’s long-standing record.

The FA are planning a series of tributes, including a pre-match presentation by Shilton himself so any betting for this game simply has to factor in the main man.

Kane netted twice in England’s 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening game of the World Cup and another brace when the two met behind closed doors during the last international break.

Captain fantastic Kane is 11/5 with starsports.bet to score two or more goals.

Kane aside, it will be interesting to see how strong a team Thomas Tuchel picks given the short turnaround to Sunday’s trip to Madrid to face world champions Spain in a game that is expected to be a straight shootout for top spot in the group. With Ezri Konsa rested and Marc Guehi absent from the squad it looks very likely Jarrell Quansah will fill one of the two centre-back spots.

Whoever starts England should have too much for an ageing Croatian side they thrashed 7-0 in that reverse meeting.

That pummelling was a bleak moment for returning Croatia boss Slaven Bilic, but in fairness they performed much better in the 2-1 defeat to Spain a few days later.

Bilic also has happy memories of Wembley, having masterminded Croatia’s memorable 3-2 win during his first spell in charge to stop England qualifying for Euro 2008. The former West Ham cult hero knows a repeat of that victory is unlikely, having lost four of their last five games but I would expect Croatia to be much more competitive than they were in Rijeka.

England have scored 39 goals in 26 games in 2026, while Croatia have conceded 28. Over 3.5 goals in the game returns 23/20 with starsports.bet.

England were fast starters in all three games during the last break, so my build-a-bet is England to win the first half, Kane to score at any time, over 3.5 goals in the game and over 1.5 Croatia cards, which pays 4/1 with starsports.bet.

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RECOMMENDED SELECTIONS
1⃣ BEST BET: Harry Kane to score a brace 1.5pts at 11/5 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
2⃣ NEXT BEST: Over 3.5 goals 1pt at 23/20 (⭐️ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
📊 BUILD-A-BET: England to win the first half, Harry Kane to score at any time, over 3.5 goals in the game and over 1.5 Croatia cards 1pt at 4/1 with starsports.bet

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ALEX’S PROFIT/LOSS (NOV 2026): -3.00 points

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