England vs. Croatia: Three Lions Open World Cup Campaign Against a Familiar Rival

If you've been following England at all over the last decade, today's World Cup opener probably feels very familiar — and not entirely comfortable. England kick off their 2026 World Cup campaign tonight against Croatia at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and yes, it's the same Croatia that broke English hearts back in 2018.

Here's the quick backstory: this is only the second time England and Croatia have met at a World Cup, with the first being the 2018 semi-final, where Croatia triumphed 2-1 after extra time. That night in Moscow is seared into the memory of every England fan. Mario Mandzuric's winner sent Croatia to the World Cup final for the first time in their history. Tonight is England's chance to settle the score on the biggest stage.

So what's the setup? Group L runs from June 17 to 27, 2026, with England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama all battling it out. England go in as the bookies' favourites for the Croatia opener, and a positive result would put them in control of the group. After that, they face Ghana and then Panama — on paper, a very winnable group.

England's head coach is Thomas Tuchel, the German manager best known for guiding Chelsea to the Champions League title in 2021, having made the final of that tournament with Paris-Saint Germain a year earlier. This is his first major international tournament in charge. The qualification campaign was a relative breeze — England won all eight of their matches, scoring 22 times without conceding a single goal. Flawless on paper. But friendlies have told a slightly different story: they were impressive in a 3-0 win against Costa Rica but uninspiring in a 1-0 win against New Zealand, and they've lost friendlies to Senegal and Japan in the last year.

Oh, and the week before the tournament even kicked off? England were the victims of an audacious heist, having equipment — including analysis gear and Tuchel's whiteboards — stolen from the travelling squad en route to Kansas City. You genuinely couldn't make it up.

As for Croatia, don't sleep on them. They've long shed the 'underdog' label and arrive as one of international football's most consistent tournament performers — and under the age-defying Luka Modric, they remain a genuine threat. Croatia are one of only two nations, alongside France, to have reached the semi-finals at each of the last two World Cups. That said, they had an abysmal showing at Euro 2024, crashing out in the group stage without a single win — their worst big tournament performance since the 2006 World Cup.

For England fans, history actually offers some comfort heading into this one. England have lost just one of their last eight World Cup openers — a 2-1 defeat to Italy in 2014. The Opta supercomputer gives England a 55.9% win probability, against Croatia's 20.8%.

Why does this matter to you? If you care about England ending 60 years of World Cup hurt, tonight is the first real test of whether this squad — and this manager — have what it takes. A win here sets the tone. A slip-up, and the pressure builds fast.