The Group L premium match of England vs Croatia lived up to most of the hype, with a lot of the hype coming from England fans looking to bring stuff home. It wasn’t an easy game at times for England, twice losing the lead and often losing the momentum in the first half. But England scored early in the second half to make it 3-2 and pretty much cruised through the rest of the match. They added a fourth for fun and safety towards the end. Job done though for England, toughest game won, Harry Kane in form, boxes ticked. So hopefully they don’t choke now.
This England vs Croatia Match Centre Summary has our full review of the 2026 FIFA World Cup clash given to the premium games that deserves it, and because we’ve only got a staff of one here at The Gurgler.
SETTING THE SCENE
The England vs Croatia Group X match is the biggest game of the day and one of the biggest of the first round of games. Not only because England attract a lot of interest and ridicule for their Coming Home and Going Out, but England-Croatia games have been great contests for big prizes in the last decade or so. England have named a side with less big names and more fresh faces, going against the trend of crowbarring as many big names as possible, while Croatia’s side has a warm familiarity. This is hopefully the game it promises to be.
It’s pretty hot, well European hot, at 33 degrees, but given both teams are European we wonder if that’s a disadvantage to either side.
7th Min – A quiet opening spent listening to the dulcet sounds of Martin Tyler, a treat we only get at World Cups these days, but England’s first meaningful attack ends in Harry Kane muscling his way in the openalty box, and gets a powerful shot away that’s deflected for a corner.
The corner is taken and………..
PENALTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The ball goes into the six yard box and is headed back out, but as Noni Madueke goes in for a big strike, Luka Modric kicks the English player in mid air. Referee points quickly to the spot.
The ball goes to Harry Kane for the penalty.
PENALTY MISSED!!!!!!!!!!
He runs up to the ball, then stop, then drills it straight at the keeper. Another example of poor English penalty taking. But………….they are reviewing the Croatian goalkeeper coming off his line too early…..And the review agrees. The penalty is to be retaken……
GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Harry Kane goes the same way with the kick this time but doesn’t stuff around with the jink and stop in the run up, just run as far and hard as you can and kick the sh!t out of the ball. It works, England lead.
ENGLAND 1 CROATIA 0
15th Min – Croatia have their first decent attacking raid and it ends with a Croatian player on the ground in the penalty box. Contact was feather touch to be generous and no penalty awarded. A subsequent corner was a waste of time.
16th Min – England go down the other end straight with Noni Madueke involved in the final shot, but it is forced out by the rushing Croatian defence. A subsequent corner sees a few blocked shots and nothing more dangerous than that.
23rd Min – Ad break, I mean Hydration Break. That means more McDonalds Cups and SBS shows ads that look really interesting but I just know I won’t have time to watch them. Also, I wonder how much John Lennon would want his song attached to armpits of people around the world. Maybe he would, maybe there’s an unwritten theme of that in Imagine somewhere.
26th Min – Croatia get another half chance, this is from a defensive mistake by Harry Kane who received the ball in a centre-back position. We know he likes to drop deep, but any further and he’ll need to invest in keeper gloves. He needs to move a little further forward. Croatia are slightly on top at the moment, and they need to be, they’re down 1-0.
28th Min – A counter attack from England sees a Noni Madueke cross into the box and Jude Bellingham falling over trying to meet it. This one ain’t a penalty. Nor should it be.
36th Min – GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Croatia know how to spoil an England party, and the party pooper this time is Martin Baturina who drills a powerful shot through the turnstile like hand of the England keeper for a wonderful goal. Frist shot on target equals goal, so England will need to be wary of such efficiency.
ENGLAND 1 CROATIA 1
42nd Min – GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
England win another corner, and much like their tournament expectations not much is expected. Declan Rice kicks it into the outer part of the penalty area and the evergreen Harry Kane charges onto the ball and it rebounds off his head with immense power, and the Croatian keeper is power-less to stop it. And early double for Kane.
ENGLAND 2 CROATIA 1
45th Min – A free kick for England now well outside the penalty area right in the middle of the field. Given how important free kicks have been in the Premier League this season, you’d think English players would be plenty good at it. Sadly for England they might be, but not this time, the kick goes straight into the wall and away.
45th Min +5 – GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Croatia are attacking the English penalty area, but England are guarding it well like Buckingham Palace in a line. But somehow the ball goes to Ivan Perisic who heads it out to the left and local Dallas player Petar Musa is there for the volley and he drills it into the net for a second equaliser. Top quality goal that. There is a sniff of offside for Perisic, but unbelievably, they don’t check that now, but can do so after the break says the commentator. Imagine the absurdity of a goal being disallowed 20 minutes after it was scored. It would be so modern day football. For now the score is….
ENGLAND 2 CROATIA 2 – HALF TIME
And that was the final play of the half.
Well apparently that second goal for Croatia was not offside, so we start the second half off at 2-2. Who knows what will happen. More Harry Kane masterclass or Croatian trolling England again.
47th Min – GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Well that didn’t take long to answer. IT wasn’t Harry Kane but it was his team, this time Jude Bellingham is the scorer and England re-take the lead. A wonderful through ball down the right find Jude Bellignham and he simply makes a determined beeline towards the goal, keeping defenders off him until he decides the right time to shoot and find the bottom left corner, an area too good for the keeper to stop.
ENGLAND 3 CROATIA 2
49th Min – Oooooh, that was close again for England. Nico O’Reilly is waiting at the back post for an England corner and it only just goes wide. England’s intentions clear, best of luck to Croatia.
51st Min – Declan Rice joins the party with a sharp shot from outside the box. It’s curling in but too close to the keeper who bats it away. England on top as they force multiple corners for Croatia to deal with. No addition to the goals, but certainly to the underlying pressure-meter.
55th Min – More corners and one in particular leads to a double save from the Croatia keeper and clearance from defence. Nico O’Reilly was first and Anthony Gordon with a follow up goes close too. England so on top at the moment.
70th Min – Time for an ad break, I mean Hydration break, and it dawns on us that either nothing too exciting has happened, we’ve been distracted by Martin Tyler facts and figures about the World Cup and the Ground in general, or we are the most ignorant World Cup reporters in the world.
73rd Min – Good chance for Croatia, something we haven’t said it in a while. Marco Pašalić forces a save out of Pickford, but it’s only batted away and England take their sweet time in clearing. They do so eventually.
84th Min – Still not a great deal happening, maybe it’s more then than us. Maybe England are settling for a draw, that’s dangerous given their history of choking.
85th Min – GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
What would we know. Marcus Rashford likely seals the game for England. Good setup play down the right eventually finds Buyako Saka who passes across the penalty box line to a waiting Rashford, who stops to allow a shot with his right foot, and what a shot it is, perfectly angling across the keeper and into the right corner of the goal.
ENGLAND 4 CROATIA 2
90th Min +4 – Close for Croatia with a shot on target, but it is blocked by….Harry Kane. Amazing effort. England get a chance to run up the field and score a fifth goal on the break, but Marcus Rashford is outwitted by a tracking Croatian defender.
That’s the last of the real action, and England have done the job they needed, winning their hardest Group game.
Like the John West of Football stats, The Gurgler trawled the internet to find the quickest, easiest stats just for you. To give you just the taste of stats you need to impress friends and/or family.
BEST OF STATS
- Harry Kane’s seven shots on goal is the second best of the first round of games. Turkey’s Arda Giler had eight.
- England’s 11 Shots on Target was second best behind Germany’s effort beating Curacao by 7-1.
REST OF STATS
This England vs Croatia Group L clash hype is here and we can only hope the English fans respond by drinking and fighting like we all know they will do and are good at. This is one of the premium matches, and one that played off for World Cup riches not long ago. Both of these teams cruised through qualifying, so now when the real action starts are they ready? A win here may be important to set up the best path to glory. England appears to be more quietly confident than arrogantly sing-y this time around, which may be dangerous to those who enjoy an England penalty shootout World Cup exit. They are a big chance of winning the whole thing.
England vs Croatia Preview
STATS SUMMARY
RATINGS
The Gurgler’s in-house Ratings system based on H2H stats, World Cup stats, recent records, qualifying and past World Cup performance is here to make choosing the winner easier, or have something to blame.
| England | 50.7% | Croatia | 49.3% |
BARELY INTERESTING STATS
Neither of these teams lost a game in World Cup Qualifying. England won all eight, and Croatia drew just once. England didn’t even concede a goal, and Croatia conceded one every second game.
England lead the H2H v Croatia with six wins to three and two draws. Croatia won the only World Cup fixture in 2018 in the third place playoff.
England didn’t make the World Cup the last time it was in the USA in 1994.
England’s record for the opening match of a World Cup is W7 D6 L3.
The last four times England started their campaign against a European nation they have failed to win – D2 L2.
Croatia’s record for the opening match of a World Cup is W2 D1 L3.
MATCH PREDICTION
ENGLAND 2 CROATIA 0
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