England vs Croatia Predicted Lineups & Team News

Thomas Tuchel’s England side get their World Cup underway on Wednesday as they face Croatia in Dallas (3pm local, 9pm BST, ITV1).

Should Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford start ahead of Morgan Rogers and Anthony Gordon? With plenty of selection dilemmas for the German boss, below you can find the latest England vs Croatia Predicted Lineups & Team News.

England

Major tournaments present their own issues for England managers, as it seems that consistently we see leaks coming out of the camp in terms of player selection. 2026 is no different, with reports suggesting that Marc Guehi is set to miss out in defence in favour of Ezri Konsa and John Stones.

That means the back four will comprise of Reece James, Konsa, Stones and Nico O’Reilly - with the Manchester City defender set to start his first major tournament despite having just three international caps to his name. 

Jordan Pickford is at the other end of the scale in terms of experience and this will be his fifth consecutive tournament as England’s undisputed number one. In midfield, Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice will feature in the engine room while Bellingham looks to have won the battle with Rogers for the number 10 role. 

With Bukayo Saka’s ongoing injury issues, Noni Madueke should start on the right, while it’s a toss-up between Rasford and Gordon on the left wing. Captain Harry Kane, who has 79 goals in 114 international appearances, will lead the line.

Tino Livramento has been ruled out of the World Cup, with Tuchel set to call up Trevoh Chalobah as his replacement.

Croatia

Zlatko Dalic remains in charge of Croatia, having downed England back in the 2018 semi-final and reached the final four in Qatar four years ago. Luka Modric, now 40, captains the side in midfield while Dominik Livakovic, Mateo Kovacic, Andrej Kramaric and Ivan Perisic were all in the squad that reached the final eight years ago.

Livakovic should start in goal against England but this is a squad of experienced heads, although there’s also plenty of talent in the defence. Man City’s Josko Gvardiol, Tottenham’s Luka Vuskovic and Ajax’s Josip Sutalo are set to start as the back three, with Perisic and Bayern Munich’s Josip Stanisic the likely wing-backs. 

Modric will be joined by Mateo Kovacic in the heart of midfield, but places in the front three are up for grabs. Two 23-year-olds, Real Sociedad’s Luka Sucic and Como’s Martin Baturina may be handed starts behind Petar Musa, who plays his football for FC Dallas. 

Remember you can bet on this match and check out all of the live England vs Croatia Odds over on betfred.com

England vs Croatia Key Players:

Harry Kane (England)

England's greatest ever goalscorer is also likely to become their most-capped player, given he is just 11 appearances behind Peter Shilton's record of 125. This is a massive tournament for the Bayern Munich man, who scored a ridiculous 61 goals in 51 club games in 2025/26.

Unlike two years ago, it feels this squad has been crafted to get the best out of Kane, with pacy wingers included and Phil Foden and Cole Palmer left out. It means he should have plenty of runners beyond him, including Bellingham, while Any two of Rashford, Gordon, Saka and Madueke should stretch teams out wide and get crosses into the box.

For these reasons, I think Kane is a good price to win the Golden Boot (6/1), and his goals should carry England deep into this tournament.

Luke Modric (Croatia)

Pre-tournament, I picked out Gvardiol as Croatia's key man, but I've changed my mind with the game approaching. Croatia's hopes depend on whether their old dogs still have it - with Modric the pick of the bunch. He's still the captain and played 34 Serie A matches for AC Milan this season, so the fitness still looks to be there.

If he gets enough legs around him, there is no doubt that he can run the show. He was the thorn in England's side eight years ago, and if he can get the better of Rice and Anderson, which is a big ask, England will be in trouble once again.

For all of our coverage and betting markets for the festival of football this summer, please check out our World Cup Odds over on betfred.com