England open their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign as 3/4 favourites against Croatia in Group L – a rematch that carries eight years of tournament trauma and one of the sharpest betting lines of the opening round.
England are expected to win, but the draw at 14/5 and Croatia at 22/5 reflect genuine uncertainty against a side that reached the World Cup final in 2018 and finished third in 2022.
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England vs Croatia Kick-Off Time and Venue
England vs Croatia kicks off at 9pm BST on Wednesday, June 17, 2026 – that is 3pm local time in Texas and 4pm ET. The match takes place at AT&T Stadium Dallas in Arlington, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and one of the largest covered venues in the world with a potential crowd north of 80,000.
| Time Zone | Kick-Off Time |
| Local (CT) | 3:00 PM |
| Eastern (ET) | 4:00 PM |
| Pacific (PT) | 1:00 PM |
| BST (UK) | 9:00 PM |
| IST (India) | 1:30 AM (Thu 18 Jun) |
| AEST (Australia) | 6:00 AM (Thu 18 Jun) |
England vs Croatia TV Channel and World Cup Live Stream
UK viewers get the easiest deal in the global broadcast picture. The England vs Croatia TV channel in the UK is ITV1, free-to-air, with coverage beginning at 8pm BST. The World Cup live stream option for UK fans is ITVX – free with a sign-up – or the ITV website directly.
- 🇺🇸 United States: FOX (English), Telemundo (Spanish) – stream via FOX Sports App or Peacock
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: ITV1 / STV (Scotland) – stream via ITVX or STV Player
- 🇨🇦 Canada: TSN, CTV, RDS – stream via TSN+, CTV App or Crave
- 🇦🇺 Australia: SBS – stream via SBS On Demand
- 🇮🇳 India: Doordarshan (FTA) – stream via Zee5
- 🇩🇪 Germany: ZDF – stream via MagentaTV
- 🇫🇷 France: M6, beIN Sports – stream via M6+ or beIN SPORTS CONNECT
- 🇪🇸 Spain: RTVE/TVE – stream via DAZN Spain
- 🇮🇹 Italy: RAI 1 – stream via DAZN Italia
- 🇧🇷 Brazil: Globo, SBT, SporTV – stream via Globoplay or CazéTV
- 🇭🇷 Croatia: HRT 2 – stream via HRTi
- 🌍 Middle East & North Africa: beIN Sports – stream via beIN SPORTS CONNECT
Free highlights are available globally on FIFA‘s official YouTube channel and website. UK viewers can also find them on the ITVX app, BBC iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website after the match.
England vs Croatia Team News and Predicted Lineups
Thomas Tuchel faces two genuinely difficult selection calls before a ball is kicked at AT&T Stadium Dallas. The bigger one sits at No.10, where Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers are competing for the same berth – a decision that sets England’s attacking tempo for the entire group stage.
At centre-back, Tuchel must choose two from Marc Guehi, John Stones, and Ezri Konsa.
Tino Livramento is out of the tournament entirely with a muscle injury, replaced in the squad by Trevoh Chalobah – though Chalobah will not join up until after this fixture. Reece James starts at right-back. Bukayo Saka has declared himself fit despite a lingering Achilles issue, with his minutes still being carefully managed.
Predicted England XI: Pickford; James, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly; Rice, Anderson; Saka, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane.
Croatia arrive with a full bill of health and a selection headache of their own up front. Head coach Zlatko Dalic must decide between Andrej Kramaric – 116 caps, former Leicester man – and Petar Musa, who plays his club football with FC Dallas in MLS and would be starting in front of a near-home crowd.
The midfield picks itself: Luka Modric, now 40 years old and captaining what is widely viewed as his World Cup farewell, partners Mateo Kovacic in the engine room. Josko Gvardiol anchors the defence alongside teenage Tottenham defender Luka Vuskovic.
Predicted Croatia XI: Livakovic; Stanisic, Sutalo, Vuskovic, Gvardiol; Modric, Kovacic; Pasalic, Kramaric, Perisic; Budimir.
What Is at Stake in Group L
This is not a routine group opener – it is almost certainly England’s hardest fixture before the knockout rounds begin. Ghana and Panama follow, and early projections suggest top spot in Group L could come down to goal difference, which makes the margin of victory here as important as the result itself.
For Croatia, the stakes are existential in a different way. A group-stage exit would close the Modric era on a bitter note after the highs of Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.
They fell at the group stage in Euro 2024 – a warning sign Dalic cannot ignore. Across 11 official meetings, England lead the head-to-head series six wins to three, with two draws, but those numbers do nothing to soften the memory of Mario Mandzukic‘s extra-time winner in Moscow or the Scott Carson blunder under Steve McClaren‘s umbrella at Wembley in 2008.
For the latest on World Cup 2026 betting and match previews, keep it locked to Sportscasting.
