Join The Club
England vs Croatia LIVE: Bellingham starts! Starting lineups and match updates
England take on Croatia in their World Cup 2026 opener, in a rematch of the 2018 semi-final
Welcome along to FourFourTwo's liveblog of England vs Croatia, the Three Lions' opening fixture of World Cup 2026!
- Tino Livramento has left the squad through injury, replaced by Trevoh Chalobah
- Bukayo Saka may not start the fixture
- John Stones is expected to partner Ezri Konsa in defence
- Kick-off from 9pm BST
England vs Croatia, World Cup 2026: Confirmed XI
Jordan Pickford
Reece James
John Stones
Ezri Konsa
Nico O'Reilly
Declan Rice
Elliott Anderson
Noni Madueke
Jude Bellingham
Anthony Gordon
Harry Kane
Tuchel speaks to ITV, calling it a “50/50 decision” as to who to pick at no.10 today.
“Both of them deserve to start,” says Thomas Tuchel about Bellingham and Rogers.
The England team to face Croatia…
Your #ThreeLions to take on Croatia! 👊 pic.twitter.com/xLcO8PeaxlJune 17, 2026
Jude Bellingham starts for England – elsewhere, it's James and O'Reilly at full-back, with Gordon starting over Rashford.
Wh-where's the other one…?
Harry Kane wears a special World Cup patch tonight, in honour of a major achievement
You'll remember in 2018 when Harry Kane won the Golden Boot in Russia – well, to mark the occasion, FIFA have given him an embroidered patch for his England shirt sleeve. Nice.
England's record against Croatia
Date | Result | Competition |
24 April 1996 | England 0-0 Croatia | Friendly |
20 August 2003 | England 3-1 Croatia | Friendly |
21 June 2004 | Croatia 2-4 England | Euro 2004 |
11 October 2006 | Croatia 2-0 England | Euro 2008 qualifiers |
21 November 2007 | England 2-3 Croatia | Euro 2008 qualifiers |
10 September 2008 | Croatia 1-4 England | World Cup 2010 qualifiers |
9 September 2009 | England 5-1 Croatia | World Cup 2010 qualifiers |
11 July 2018 | Croatia 2-1 England | World Cup 2018 |
12 October 2018 | Croatia 0-0 England | Nations League |
18 November 2018 | England 2-1 Croatia | Nations League |
13 June 2021 | England 1-0 Croatia | Euro 2020 |
In case you needed reminding of what happened the last time England and Croatia met at a World Cup…
Tonight is a chance for England to get some revenge – the Three Lions have since beaten Luka Modric and co. in the Nations League and the European Championship, let's not forget.
There's just over two-and-a-half hours to go until England kick off their World Cup journey.
We're at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas for this one, as Thomas Tuchel's England face 2022's semi-finalists in Group L.
Preparation for this one has been far from ideal. Tino Livramento's injury yesterday meant a late substitution for the Three Lions, as Trevoh Chalobah got a last-minute flight out to the United States – and all of this comes off the back of England having a load of their gear stolen last week.
Still, let's hope they can evoke the spirit of Pickles in 1966, and use the robbery as a springboard to glory.
First up, Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal have an appointment with DR Congo, live from 6pm.
