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place
- Wembley Stadium
Before England-Croatia
Harry Kane is on the brink of history. The England the captain equaled Peter Shilton’s record of 125 caps during the last international window, and if he turns up against Croatia at Wembley on Thursday night, he will become the most capped player in the history of the England men’s team.
It’s been quite a year for Kane. After winning the 2026 Ballon d’Or, he leads a team that has bounced back strongly from its World Cup semi-final exit in the summer. England finished third in the tournament, and Thomas Tuchel’s side have impressed in the Nations League.
After losing 3-2 to world champions Spain at Wembley in their opening match, England beat the Czech Republic twice and then thrashed Croatia 7-0 in October.
Tuchel’s men sit second in Group A3 and know that if they avoid defeat against Croatia, that will be enough to secure their place in the quarter-finals. To finish top of the group, England would need to beat Croatia and Spain and ensure they had a higher goal difference than the world champions.
Croatia will be determined to avoid a repeat of last month’s shock. Luka Modrić, now 41, remains their most influential player.
England have won eight of their 13 meetings with Croatia, with Croatia winning three and drawing two.
League of Nations table
League A – Group C
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position 1, 2: Play Offs: Quarter-finals
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position 3, 4 : Possible play-off
England-Croatia team news
Tuchel will have to rethink his defense after a series of withdrawals. Marc Guéhi withdrew from the squad with a hip injury picked up in Manchester City’s defeat to Nottingham Forest. Newcastle’s Dan Burn has been called up in his place.
Ezri Konsa will also miss Thursday’s game, although he is expected to return to full training later in the week ahead of the Spain game. Bournemouth’s James Hill, who has played every minute of the Premier League season, has received his first senior call-up.
Tuchel must decide whether to play Burn, give Hill his debut or move Jarell Quansah into the center and bring Ben White or Trent Alexander-Arnold to right-back.
Goalkeepers Jordan Pickford and James Trafford will share the number one shirt for both games and it seems logical that the experienced Everton man will be retained for the Spanish clash.
There are four uncapped players in the squad – Hill, Josh King, Jason Steele and Jobe Bellingham, who joins his brother Jude in the senior team for the first time.
Cole Palmer and Phil Foden are out.
Croatia midfielder Ivan Perisic is suspended, while Slaven Bilic also has plenty of injury headaches with Josip Sutalo, Martin Pongracic, Andrej Kramaric, Franjo Ivanovic and Kristijan Jakic pulling out.
Line-ups expected for England-Croatia
England: Trafford; White, Quansah, Hill, Hall; Rice, Anderson, Bellingham, Ngumoha, Gordon; Kane
Croatia: Livakovic; Stanisic, Vuskovic, Caleta-Car, Guardiol; Modric, Kovacic; Vlasic, Mario Pasalic, Baturina; Budimir
Recent England-Croatia form
- England have only failed to score in a Nations League game at Wembley – their 1-0 defeat to Denmark in 2020
- England’s 14 goals in four games are the most across all Nations League divisions
- Croatia’s 7-0 defeat of England in Rijeka was the heaviest in a senior men’s international
- England have won the last four meetings between the two nations
Where to watch England vs Croatia: TV and online broadcasts
England v Croatia kicks off at 19:45 GMT on Thursday 12 November at Wembley Stadium.
The match is live on ITV1 in the UK and can be played on ITVX. In the US, it’s on FOX Sports at 2:45pm ET.
Prediction England-Croatia
England were too strong for Croatia in the second leg, probably producing their best performance under Tuchel. Anything like that will be too much for the visitors.