England vs Croatia: One of the Best Duels in the 2026 World Cup Group Stage

KET. PHOTO: Illustration of the match between England and Croatia. (Dok. ChatGPT AI)

JAKARTA - The England national team will begin their journey at the 2026 World Cup by facing Croatia in the opening match of Group L. This is one of the best matches presented early in the group stage.

The duel between the two countries will take place at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, United States, on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at 03.00 WIB. This clash is predicted to be fierce because both countries have consistently performed competitively in major tournaments in recent years.

England came to North America with the ambition of ending their long wait to win the world title. The only World Cup trophy owned by the team nicknamed The Three Lions still comes from the 1966 edition.

Since then, various generations have tried to bring home the prestigious trophy, but have always failed to make it happen. However, this year the squad led by Thomas Tuchel has very convincing capital.

England became the first country from the European zone to secure a ticket to the final round after sweeping eight matches with victories and recording eight clean sheets. That confirms their quality as one of the strong candidates in this tournament.

However, England's preparations ahead of the World Cup have not been entirely smooth. They drew with Uruguay and had to swallow the first defeat in history against an Asian team when they met Japan in a trial.

The less convincing performance against New Zealand also raised doubts about the readiness of Tuchel's squad. Fortunately for England, they were able to close the series of trials with a convincing victory over Costa Rica.

The result was an important moral injection before undergoing the opening duel of the 2026 World Cup against Croatia. In addition, England's record in the first match of this most prestigious football competition is also quite good.

In the last eight editions, they have only recorded one defeat when losing 1-2 to Italy in 2014. On the opponent's side, Croatia is back as a team that has the potential to be a nuisance for the top teams.

Even though they are not the main favorites for the championship, their reputation in big tournaments is beyond doubt. Croatia managed to become the runner-up of the 2018 World Cup, taking third place at the 2022 World Cup, and reaching the podium of the 2022/2023 UEFA Nations League.

However, Zlatko Dalic's team also has homework to complete. Their performance at Euro 2024 was disappointing after failing to win a single victory and being eliminated in the group stage. The result was Croatia's worst performance in a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup.

Even though a number of their core players are starting to enter their twilight years, Croatia still showed their quality during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. They only lost two points out of eight matches and were able to finish at the top of the group standings.

Croatia also closed preparations for the tournament with a narrow 2-1 victory over Slovenia after previously losing to Brazil and Belgium in friendly matches. This result is enough capital to meet England.

The meeting between England and Croatia reminded the public of the 2018 World Cup semi-final which became one of the most historic nights for Croatia. At that time, Mario Mandzukic's single goal led Croatia to beat England and advance to the final for the first time in their history.

Eight years later, England now has the opportunity to avenge old wounds while starting the 2026 World Cup campaign with a positive result. However, they cannot underestimate their opponents who can certainly provide a surprise.

The estimated line-up:

England (4-2-3-1): Jordan Pickford; Reece James, John Stones, Ezri Konsa, Nico O'Reilly; Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice; Noni Madueke, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon; Harry Kane.

Croatia (3-4-2-1): Dominik Livakovic; Josip Sutalo, Luka Vuskovic, Josko Gvardiol; Josip Stanisic, Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic; Petar Sucic, Martin Baturina; Petar Musa