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Sport

Mark White

Croatia vs England Team News: Predicted XI & Squad for Tonight

World Cup Croatia Zlatko Dalic Luka Modric World Cup 2026 the World Cup GK (Organization) FourFourTwo Girona

Luka Modric #10 of Croatia poses for a portrait during the official FIFA World Cup 2026 portrait session on June 12, 2026 in Alexandria, Virginia.

DON'T MISS THE MATCH:

TV & Streaming Guide: How to watch England vs Croatia tonight
The Opposition: Check out the full England World Cup squad here

The Croatia World Cup 2026 squad have England in their sights.

Their World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign was straightforward. They only dropped points in one draw against Czech Republic and will be gearing up to upset the odds at yet another World Cup.

Croatia have reached the semi-finals three times in just seven World Cups since 1998. In 2018, they were beaten by France in the final in Russia. It would be a bold wager to back them getting to the final again but football is a funny old game.

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Tonight's match vs England

Croatia Predicted XI vs England (3-4-3)
Dominik Livakovic (GK); Josip Sutalo, Luka Vuskovic, Josko Gvardiol; Josip Stanisic, Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic; Petar Sucic, Martin Baturina; Petar Musa

It's a strong Croatian squad, led by Luka Modric on 198 international caps: Manchester City pair Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic have both recovered from injury for this one, and there is further experience with the likes of Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric and Dominik Livakovic.

Martin Baturina, Luka Sucic and Petar Sucic, meanwhile, represent the next generation: they'll be hoping for breakout tournaments in the Croatian midfield as they audition to replace Modric long-term.

The lack of a striker may hurt this team, though: in 2022, a Mandzukic-less side managed to grind out results en route to a final four – in 2018, they did something similar, with three knockout wins in extra-time – but it didn't work quite so well in Euro 2024, with a group stage exit.

With a tough group, which Croatia will turn up?

Mood

International football’s perennial dark horses go to North America with a seriously aged squad led by Luka Modric, now 40 and still pottering around admirably for Milan.

Given the tiny nation’s limited talent pool, a lot depends on how fit Manchester City duo Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic will be after their long injury absences. This will affect everything from their formation and style of play to their tournament chances.

Whatever you do, though, don’t underestimate them. If you do – for any slight, real or imaginary – they will make you pay. And they fancy doing so against England once again.

These old horses still have some tricks. Not a glue factory in sight.

Lesson from qualifying

None. Croatia’s group included a frankly horrible Czechia, who they beat 5-1 at home, as their only challenging opponent. Gibraltar, Faroe Islands, Montenegro were pushovers, with little truly valuable learned. Seven wins from eight, 26 goals scored, four conceded. Move on.

Squad

Croatia World Cup 2026 squad: The final selection

GK: Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb)
GK: Dominik Kotarski (Copenhagen)
GK: Ivor Pandur (Hull City)
DF: Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City)
DF: Duje Caleta-Car (Real Sociedad)
DF: Josip Sutalo (Ajax)
DF: Josip Stanisic (Bayern Munich)
DF: Marin Pongracic (Fiorentina)
DF: Martin Erlic (Midtjylland)
DF: Luka Vuskovic (Hamburger SV)
MF: Luka Modric (Milan)
MF: Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City)
MF: Mario Pasalic (Atalanta)
MF: Nikola Vlasic (Torino)
MF: Luka Sucic (Real Sociedad)
MF: Martin Baturina (Como)
MF: Kristijan Jakic (FC Augsburg)
MF: Petar Sucic (Inter Milan)
MF: Nikola Moro (Bologna)
MF: Toni Fruk (Rijeka)
FW: Ivan Perisic (PSV Eindhoven)
FW: Andrej Kramaric (TSG Hoffenheim)
FW: Ante Budimir (Osasuna)
FW: Marco Pasalic (Orlando City)
FW: Petar Musa (FC Dallas)
FW: Igor Matanovic (SC Freiburg)

Croatia World Cup 2026 Schedule: Fixtures, Dates & Kick-Off Times

Fixtures

June 17, 2026: England vs Croatia , AT&T Stadium , Arlington, Texas, United States
June 23, 2026: Panama vs Croatia , BMO Field , Toronto, Canada
June 27, 2026: Croatia vs Ghana , Lincoln Financial Field , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
September 26, 2026: Czech Republic vs Croatia , Stadion Letna, Prague, Czech Republic
September 29, 2026: Spain vs Croatia , Spain
October 3, 2026: Croatia vs England , Stadion Rujevica, Rijeka, Croatia
October 6, 2026: Croatia vs Spain , Stadion Poljud, Split, Croatia
November 12, 2026: England vs Croatia , Wembley Stadium, London, England
November 15, 2026: Croatia vs Czech Republic , Opus Arena, Osijek, Croatia

Who is Croatia's manager?

Zlatko Dalic is a legend of Croatian football (Image credit: Getty Images)

Zlatko Dalic's Croatia career was almost over before it had begun. When he took charge in 2017, he was hired on the provision that if they failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the football association would review his position.

As it was, they qualified, and then went on to reach the final of the World Cup, beating England in heartbreaking fashion in the semi-finals. He then carried them to the semi-finals in Qatar four years later, again being beaten only by the winners Argentina in the semi-finals.

His performances at the last two European Championships have left much to be desired, but maybe the Croatian FA are once again hoping for a bit of World Cup magic in North America.

Star player

Who is Croatia's star player?

Luka Modric holds his award for the 2018 World Cup's best player after Croatia's defeat to France in the final in Moscow. (Image credit: Getty Images)

This feels like it will be Luka Modric's last international tournament, yet we've been saying that for years and it never seems to come true.

The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner has been a fantastic servant to his country, taking them to back-to-back World Cup semi-finals, and leading them in their incredible run to the 2018 final.

He is ranked at no.29 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest players of all time and has enjoyed a stellar career, and when he retires will look back on his career with significant pride.

Best XI

Croatia Predicted XI vs England (4-3-3)

Dominik Livakovic; Josip Stanisic, Josip Sutalo, Martin Erlic, Josko Gvardiol; Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Mario Pasalic; Andrej Kramaric, Ante Budimir, Ivan Perisic.

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