England begin their 2026 World Cup challenge tonight against Croatia at Dallas Stadium in Texas.
Thomas Tuchel’s side take on a Croatian team that have reached the final and semi-final on their last two appearances at the World Cup. It’s a tough test for the Three Lions, who will hope to make an early statement.
England have faced Croatia 11 times previously, since the latter’s admission to FIFA in 1994. There have been some memorable past encounters between the teams, including a costly defeat for England as the Three Lions missed out on Euro 2008 qualification, and a massive World Cup semi-final in 2018.
Despite those defeats, England have edged the overall head-to-head record. England have won six of the 11 meetings across all competitions, losing on three occasions, with two draws.
England vs Croatia – Head-to-head record
- England wins – 6
- Draws – 2
- Croatia wins – 3
England vs Croatia – Past meetings
- England 0-0 Croatia – International friendly (24/04/1996)
- England 3-1 Croatia – International friendly (20/08/2003)
- Croatia 2-4 England – Euro 2004 (21/06/2004)
- Croatia 2-0 England – Euro 2008 qualifier (11/10/2006)
- England 2-3 Croatia – Euro 2008 qualifier (21/11/2007)
- Croatia 1-4 England – 2010 World Cup qualifier (10/09/2008)
- England 5-1 Croatia – 2010 World Cup qualifier (09/09/2009)
- Croatia 2-1 England – 2018 World Cup (11/07/2018)
- Croatia 0-0 England – UEFA Nations League (12/10/2018)
- England 2-1 Croatia – UEFA Nations League (18/11/2018)
- England 1-0 Croatia – Euro 2020 (13/06/2021)
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