England will face Croatia at Wembley on Thursday, aiming to secure a spot in the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League knockout rounds before the Matchday 6 clash vs Spain.
The 2026/27 UEFA Nations League resumes this week with Matchday 5. Thursday will feature several eye-catching fixtures, including England vs Croatia at Wembley, with the second quarter-final spot up for grabs.
England and Croatia have embarked on contrasting campaigns in the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League. The Three Lions kicked things off with a 3-2 defeat to Spain, squandering a one-goal lead, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring the match-winning goal. On the other hand, Croatia began with a 2-1 win over Czechia, with Mario Pasalic netting the winner.
Since then, England have won three successive games to rise to second in Group C, opening up a six-point gap over Croatia. In doing so, Thomas Tuchel’s men have set the best defensive record in Group C. Speaking of Vatreni, they have lost three matches in a row, suffering heavy defeats to Spain and England to have a far-from-ideal -10 goal difference.
The reverse fixture, played in the previous international break in Rijeka, saw England cruise to a 7-0 win over Croatia, with Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka, and Morgan Rogers finding the back of the net. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
England
Thomas Tuchel has made significant changes to the squad he picked in the previous international break. Rico Lewis, Trevoh Chalobah, Nico O’Reilly, Valentino Livramento (knee), Alex Scott (thigh), Cole Palmer, Kobbie Mainoo, Bukayo Saka (hamstring), and Marcus Rashford (hip) miss out due to their injuries or other reasons.
Additionally, Marc Guehi has withdrawn from the latest squad, having sustained a hip injury. Ezri Konsa will be unavailable for Thursday’s game due to a knee issue. James Hill has received his maiden call-up to the national side, and he will be in contention to make his senior bow for the Three Lions.
Jordan Pickford is an automatic pick between the sticks, with England lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Croatia on Thursday. The backline should feature Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jarell Quansah, Jarrad Branthwaite, and Lewis Hall.
As for the midfield unit, Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice will pair up in the double pivot, with Jude Bellingham reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Harry Kane will lead the line for England against Croatia on Thursday, with Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers completing the numbers in the offensive unit.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Branthwaite, Hall; Anderson, Rice; Rogers, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane
Croatia
Like his counterpart in the opposite dugout, Slaven Bilic has made a few changes to the squad he picked in the most recent international break. Josip Juranovic, Martin Erlic, Nikola Moro, and Luka Stojkovic have missed the cut due to one reason or another.
The bigger issue has been the forced changes to the squad, as Josip Sutalo (hamstring), Marin Pongracic (thigh), Kristijan Jakic (foot), Andrej Kramaric (knee), and Franjo Ivanovic (head) have pulled out of the squad due to their issues. Additionally, Luka Sucic is likely to miss out on Thursday due to illness.
Dominik Livakovic is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Croatia lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs England on Thursday. The backline will feature Josip Stanisic, Luka Vuskovic, Duje Caleta-Car, and Josko Gvardiol.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic in the double pivot, with Mario Pasalic reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Ante Budimir will spearhead his team’s attack, with Nikola Vlasic and Martin Baturina completing the numbers in the offensive unit.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Livakovic; Stanisic, Vuskovic, Caleta-Car, Gvardiol; Modric, Kovacic; Vlasic, Mario Pasalic, Baturina; Budimir
Key Stats
- England and Croatia have previously faced off 13 times, winning eight games (D2 L3), including the 7-0 victory in the reverse fixture.
- England have lost only two of their last 14 matches across all competitions (W11 D1).
- Croatia are currently on a three-game losing run, and they have lost seven times in their last 11 matches across all competitions (W4).
- England have scored 39 goals in 16 matches in 2026, only hitting the net more often in a single calendar year in 2021 (52).
- Anthony Gordon has scored in 3 of his last 3 appearances in the UEFA Nations League.
Player to Watch
Harry Kane
While Jude Bellingham, Martin Baturina, and Luka Modric were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Harry Kane as the Player to Watch for the game between England and Croatia at Wembley on Thursday.
The skipper will become England’s all-time leading appearance-maker if he features in this game, with his 126th cap taking him beyond Peter Shilton outright. Meanwhile, Kane has scored 13 goals for the Three Lions in 2026, giving him a chance to break the team’s calendar-year record of 16, which he himself set in 2021.
Four of Kane’s 13 international goals in 2026 have come as braces against Croatia, one at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in June and one in a 7-0 win over Slaven Bilic’s side last month. No England player has ever scored twice or more in three successive matches against a single opponent. So, all eyes will be on the Ballon d’Or winner as he looks to make more history this year.
Prediction
England 3-0 Croatia
Croatia are running out of time to turn things around in Group C and secure a spot in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals, and only a big win over England can begin to turn things around for Slaven Bilic’s team. However, the Three Lions have the best defensive record in Group C, and they have only conceded goals in one game, keeping three clean sheets in their subsequent outings.
With Harry Kane set to make history on Thursday, he will be eager to break more than one record, and he will lead England’s onslaught at Wembley. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-0 win for Thomas Tuchel and his charges, with the skipper scoring another brace against Croatia.
