World Cup
2026-06-17 - England vs Croatia
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: World Cup Group L Match Day 1
Wednesday 17th June 2026 - Kick Off 3pm (EST)
British Time 9pm
England
Some fans may not want to admit it, but England enjoyed a really successful time under Gareth Southgate when reaching two European Championship Finals and also the Quarter Final and Semi Final at two World Cup tournaments. Coming up short meant the fans frustration built around the manager and it is Thomas Tuchel who has been tasked to help England over the line.
Expectations are very high back home, despite some of the lacklustre performances produced under the new manager and England need a deep run. Qualification from a Group where the biggest rivals were Albania and Serbia proved to be very easy for England, while they have returned to League A of the Nations League since losing the Euro 2024 Final to Spain, but big tests are ahead.
England have been a mixed bag in the four friendly games played since Qualifying for the World Cup Finals- they have won the two played in the United States this month, but, in March, England drew with Uruguay and were beaten by Japan. They did come through Qualifiers without conceding a goal and the two clean sheets against New Zealand and Costa Rica are a reminder of the England strength.
Do You Know... England will feel 'it's coming home', but they have only reached the World Cup Semi Final three times in 1966, 1990 and 2018.
Predicted Line Up: Pickford, James, O'Reilly, Konsa, Stones, Rice, Anderson, Bellingham, Madueke, Gordon and Kane (4-2-3-1)
Croatia
No one will want to overlook an experienced Croatia team that will be travelling to the United States with four members of the squad having at least 100 caps. Luka Modric is expected to reach 200 caps for his country during this tournament, while Croatia have tended to reserve their best football for the World Cup rather than the continental tournament.
Two years ago, Croatia failed to make it out of the Euro 2024 Group when set alongside Spain, Italy and Albania and they have not made it beyond the Last 16 in any of the last four European Championships played. However, they are chasing a third straight World Cup Semi Final run, while Croatia were beaten on Penalties in the Nations League Quarter Final played last year.
Croatia finished 6 points clear of Czechia in the World Cup Qualifying Group, but they have won 2 and lost 2 of the friendly games played since booking a place in North America. The defeats to Belgium and Brazil will be slightly concerning, but Croatia will be confident in getting through the Group Stage and that is when the experience could really become a decisive factor in the Knock Out Rounds.
Do You Know... Croatia have played in six World Cup Finals and reached the Semi Final in half of those appearances, including 2018 and 2022 (Runners Up in 2018).
Predicted Line Up: Livakovic, Stanisic, Pongracic, Gvardiol, Sutalo, Kovacic, Modric, Mario Pasalic, Petar Sucic, Perisic and Kramaric (4-2-3-1)
Head to Head
England beat Croatia 1-0 in the Euro 2020 Group Stage in a tournament that was played in the summer of 2021.
England also took four points from Croatia in the 2018/19 Nations League Group just a few months after losing 2-1 in the 2018 World Cup Semi Final After Extra Time.
Prediction
Arlington in the summer is always going to bring about hot, humid conditions and that is what is going to be facing these two European nations on Wednesday afternoon.
The local 3pm kick off time means the fixture will be played during the hottest part of the day, at least according to early forecasts, and that may represent a bigger challenge for the ageing legs of Croatia.
However, the reason Croatia have been so successful at international level is the technique of the players that can hold onto the ball and that will certainly be key for them here. Two years ago they were dumped out of the Euro 2024 Group Stage, but it would be a real surprise if the back to back final four team in the World Cup are not able to get out of this section.
The key here will be looking to make things difficult for the Group favourite and Croatia only conceded four goals in the Qualifiers, while also earning a clean sheet against a very talented France team in the Nations League Quarter Final First Leg last year.
Experience will make Croatia tough to beat, but England have been set as the favourites within this fixture as Thomas Tuchel looks to get some momentum behind his team.
Much like the Gareth Southgate era, England will be looking to be tough to beat and they did not concede a single goal in Qualifying. England have only conceded more than one goal in a single match since October 2024 and they gave up just six goals in 7 Euro 2024 Finals matches.
Thomas Tuchel has experience of winning the Champions League and so will know how to navigate these kinds of tournament, even if not having any international experience before taking over as England manager from Gareth Southgate. He will not want to give anything away and both teams will be confident they can earn the points needed from the other fixtures in the section in order to reach the Last 32.
Recent games between England and Croatia have been competitive and only 1 of the last 4 have ended with at least three goals shared out in normal time.
The weather is going to make it tough for either team to push for the ninety minutes and backing two or fewer goals to be scored looks the right play.
Both England and Croatia will respect the other and that could make this another competitive, closely fought Group Stage contest like the one played at Wembley Stadium in the summer of 2021 at the delayed Euro 2020 tournament.
The Pick :
England 1-0 Croatia
