Croatia will host England in a UEFA Nations League match on 3 October 2026. The match will take place at HNK Rijeka Stadium in Rijeka.
Below, we assess how the teams compare based on bookmakers' odds and choose the most promising betting option.
Both teams' attacking intent makes backing the over the preferred option. Over 2.5 goals has landed in 8 of Croatia's last 10 matches across all competitions, making a bet on another high-scoring game a logical way to follow that trend.
The hosts consistently find gaps in opposition defences, having scored in 9 of their last 10 matches. Under Slaven Bilic, Croatia will not sit back in their own half and will contribute significantly to the match's goal tally.
England rarely fail to score, having found the net in 9 of their last 10 games. Thomas Tuchel's side have already lost to Spain (2:3) and beaten Czechia (2:0) at the start of the UEFA Nations League campaign. With Harry Kane providing their attacking firepower, the visitors are ready to force an open contest.
The main risk is the empty stadium: the match in Rijeka will be played behind closed doors. The absence of supporters could slow the early tempo, while UEFA Nations League statistics point to a pragmatic approach: in most previous rounds, the teams' matches did not go over 3.5 goals. Even so, clearing the basic Over 2.5 goals threshold will not require an unusually one-sided rout.
Both national teams have too much quality going forward for the match to remain goalless, and the bet will not need an unusually one-sided rout to win. That makes the over the final selection.
Prediction: Over 2.5 goals — 1.73
Sven Jablonski (Germany)
Matches – 9 (International matches, 2025/26–2026/27);
Average fouls per match – 26;
Average yellow cards per match (including second yellow cards) – 3.6;
Matches with red cards – 1 of 9;
Matches with penalties – 0 of 9.
Spain
Croatia
Czech Republic
Croatia
Czech Republic
England
England
Spain
England
Croatia
England
Croatia
England
Croatia
Croatia
England
Croatia
England
England
Croatia
Croatia
England
England
Croatia
Croatia
England
Croatia
England
England
Croatia
Croatia
| # | Team |
|
|
|
|
Matches played
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
G
|
Points
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Spain
|
-:- | 4:1 | -:- | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
7:3
|
6 | |
2 |
England
|
2:3 | -:- | -:- | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
4:3
|
3 | |
3 |
Croatia
|
-:- | -:- | -:- | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
3:5
|
3 | |
4 |
Czech Republic
|
-:- | 0:2 | 1:2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
1:4
|
0 |
| Bookie | 1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
 | |||
 | |||
 | |||
 |
