England vs Croatia: prediction & betting odds 17 June 2026

Form and Line-up England

England qualified for a major tournament with a 100% record for the first time since qualifying for Euro 2016. Oddly enough, the biggest problems for the team were caused not by Serbia or Albania, but by Andorra. The Three Lions secured only narrow advantages over them - 1:0 away and 2:0 at home.

Thomas Tuchel is breaking all English traditions and, despite disapproving comments from some, has allowed himself not to take Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold to America. But the main thing is winning the tournament, something the founders of football came close to throughout the Gareth Southgate years.

Key numbers:

• England are the only national team in European qualifying who did not concede a single goal. They also played in an expanded five-team group.

• In seven of their eight qualifying matches, England scored two or more goals.

• Under 2.5 goals landed in five of their last six matches.

• At the 2022 World Cup, the Three Lions conceded an average of 0.8 goals per match across five games.

Probable line-up (4-2-3-1): Jordan Pickford - Reece James, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Nico O'Reilly - Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice - Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon - Harry Kane.

Form and Line-up Croatia

Croatia also had no problems in their qualifying group, slipping up only once against Czechia (0:0). This year, Zlatko Dalic's team have played four matches. The impression is mixed. There was a win over a solid Colombia side (2:1), but in the recent match against a far from perfect Belgium, the Checkered Ones created almost nothing. Belgium could have won by more than 2:0. The Croats have no major changes in the squad compared with the previous tournament.

Key numbers:

• Croatia have conceded in six consecutive matches.

• Over 2.5 goals landed in six of their previous seven matches.

• At the 2022 World Cup, Dalic's team scored 1.1 goals per game.

• This game could be Luka Modric's 20th at World Cups.

Probable line-up (3-4-1-2): Dominik Livakovic - Josip Sutalo, Luka Vuskovic, Josko Gvardiol - Josip Stanisic, Mateo Kovacic, Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic - Petar Sucic - Andrej Kramaric, Ante Budimir.

Who Will Referee the Match

Clément Turpin (France)

Matches officiated – 13 (international matches, 2025/26);

Average fouls per match – 23;

Average yellow cards per match (including second yellows) – 3.5;

Matches with a red card – 5 out of 13;

Matches with a penalty awarded – 8 out of 13.