England vs. Croatia preview: Team news and how to watch World Cup match

England finally get their World Cup underway tonight as they open Group L with a match against familiar foes Croatia in Dallas.

The two sides are no strangers to each other, having met in the semi-finals of the competition in 2018, when it was the Croats who prevailed over England in Russia on their way to the final, as well as clashing in some infamous battles in the Euros and qualifying.

The 2026 England team is one heavily fancied to go all the way, with an elite manager in charge and a qualifying campaign that saw them win all ten games without conceding a goal. Croatia will be a good opening test for Thomas Tuchel's men in a group that could provide some obvious obstacles. 

Read next | Predicting England's World Cup starting XI and depth chart

The Croatian's are a team you can never afford to write off, and often exceed expectations. They also went unbeaten in qualifying and will be led once again by their greatest-ever player, Luka Modric, who is playing in his last-ever international tournament. 

DAZN News has all the information ahead of England vs. Croatia. 

England vs. Croatia kick-off, date, venue 

England vs. Croatia is at 3pm local time on Wednesday, June 17, in Dallas.

UK viewers can watch the match at 9pm BST . Fans watching in the US and Canada can catch the game at 3pm ET and 12pm PT.

• Date: Wednesday, June 17
• Kick-off: 9pm BST / 3pm EDT / 12pm PDT 

The fixture will take place at the AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, Dallas. 

England vs. Croatia: How to watch

• UK: ITV
• US: FOX / FOX One
• Canada: TSN

England vs. Croatia team news 

(C)Getty Images

England 

Only Bukayo Saka is a slight injury worry for England, but has yet to be ruled out of the game. Tuchel then must decide who to pick in defence from Marc Guehi, John Stones and Ezri Konsa, while the number 10 spot is a straight shootout between Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham. 

Previous XI: Pickford, James, Konsa, Stones, O'Reilly, Rice, Anderson, Bellingham, Madueke, Gordon, Kane (vs Costa Rica, 10 June) 

Croatia 

Duje Caleta-Car missed both of Croatia's warm-up friendlies but is back in contention for the opener. 

Previous XI: Livakovic, Stanisic, Erlic, Pongracic, Gvardiol, Modric, Kovacic, Pasalic, Kramaric, Perisic, Budimir (vs Slovenia, 7 June) 

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