Match News and Current Form

Carrying the weight of expectation as they bid to win a first international trophy since 1966, England will hope German boss Thomas Tuchel is the man to finally end the long wait. A German in charge of the English national team stoked much debate, as did his controversial squad selection, with countless big hitters left out, but winning their two pre-tournament friendlies ‘to nil’ perhaps hints he’s got his squad balance just right. With momentum on their side after qualifying with a 100% winning record and without conceding a single goal, the Three Lions also have history in their favour, as they’ve lost only one of their last eight opening matches at a World Cup (W4, D3), while the fact only one European side has beaten them since the conclusion of Euro 2024 should further stoke belief.

Croatia’s route to these finals was equally as plain sailing as England’s, as they too went unbeaten in their qualifying campaign (W7, D1). They’ve produced a mixed bag of results since then across four friendlies (W2, L2), and conceding in each of them hints at some defensive fragilities, which can hardly be deemed well timed for a nation who’ve won only one of their last five World Cup openers (D1, L3). Slow start or not, Croatia shouldn’t be written off having reached the semi-finals in the last two World Cups, while going unbeaten across the group stages at those two tournaments (W4, D2) highlights what tricky opponents they can be.

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