England vs Croatia: Bellingham Gives England the Lead Early in the Second Half (3-2, Direct)

The modern England team, always well-positioned but never crowned, is set to kick off their 2026 World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday (20:00 GMT), boosted by a great deal of confidence in themselves, and also some doubts about their defense.

The European vice-champions start off with the toughest match in Group L, a showdown against veteran Luka Modric (40 years old) at Arlington, just west of Dallas, before facing the underdog Ghana and Panama.

England: Pickford - Oreilly, Konsa, Stones, James - Rice, Anderson, Bellingham - Madueke, Gordon, Kane.

Croatia: Livakovic - Gvardiol, Sutalo, Vuskovic, Stanisic - Modric, Pasalic, Baturina, Sucic - Musa, Perisic.

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