England and Croatia square off in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday in what promises to be an epic group stage clash.
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The pressure is on England and their new manager Thomas Tuchel, as the Three Lions are among the favorites to win the 2026 World Cup. But they have lost in the final of the last two European Championships and after reaching the World Cup semifinals in 2018 (they lost to Croatia in extra time) and the quarterfinals in 2022 (when they lost to France), this feels like the tournament they have to win.
But Croatia always punch above their weight and have finished as runners up and in third place in the last two World Cups, with Luka Modric still going strong at the age of 40. They should never, ever be underestimated and always seem to unearth new stars for these major tournaments.
Below is everything you need for England vs Croatia, with live updates, video highlights, analysis and more.
Starting XI: Livakovic, Sutalo, Vuskovic, Gvardiol, Stanisic, Modric, Sucic, Perisic, Baturina, M. Pasalic, Musa.
Starting XI: Jordan Pickford, Nico O’Reilly, Reece James, John Stones, Ezri Konsa, Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke, Harry Kane.
Well, we all know the narrative around England by now.
“Football’s coming home” is the chant, but it hasn’t since 1966.
Will 60 years of pain end this summer? Thomas Tuchel has been put in charge to make that happen and the signs are good for England.
Harry Kane is in the form of his life and looks sharp and ready to score goals galore. England have a plethora of brilliant attacking talents. And Tuchel is demanding a high-press and wants his team to entertain.
Defensively there are a few concerns but a more cautious approach has got England to the European Championship finals in each of the last two editions, where they lost to Italy and Spain.
They simply have to get to at least the semifinals to deem this World Cup any kind of success and that is a lot of pressure.
Tuchel’s impact during the game will be the big difference for England at this major tournament and everyone is eager to see what kind of difference his demanding coaching style, and personality, has on this very experienced team.
They have had to wait almost a week after the first game of the tournament kicked off, but England are about to kick off their World Cup campaign.
And their fans are ready.
England’s fans are in Dallas in huge numbers, and they will be heading to Boston and New York for games next week.
Here is a look at the scene around Dallas as England’s supporters are in great spirits.
Fans are in Dallas getting ready for England's opening World Cup fixture against Croatia 🏴 pic.twitter.com/Ac9KcCMl5R
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 17, 2026
Pre-match in Arlington, Texas. Counting down to England’s World Cup opener against Croatia pic.twitter.com/He3XsyOTgS
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) June 17, 2026
Well, Croatia’s fans are making quite the impression in Dallas.
They’re marching through the streets with a huge flag with the famous checkerboard design.
Check out the scenes from the Croatian supporters.
Croatia fans are ready to face England in their FIFA World Cup opener
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 17, 2026
(via IG/yeseacevedo_) pic.twitter.com/c0szBU5MUk
Here’s all of the info you need to watch England against Croatia, with TV channel and streaming info below.
How to watch England vs Croatia live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 4pm ET Wednesday (June 17)
Venue: AT&T Stadium — Dallas, Texas
TV Channel: Telemundo
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock, en Espanol
