Croatia vs England: UEFA Nations League – Kane, Modric, teams, form

Published On 2 Oct 20262 Oct 2026.

Key points

• Probable England XI: James Trafford; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Guehi, Lewis Hall; Elliot Anderson, Miles Lewis-Skelly; Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon; Harry Kane.
• Probable Croatia XI: Dominik Livakovic; Josip Stanisic, Luka Vuskovic, Josko Gvardiol, Ivan Perisic; Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic; Luka Sucic, Petar Sucic, Franjo Ivanovic; Dion Beljo.
• Croatia began their Nations League campaign with a 2-1 win over Czechia in Prague before losing 4-1 to world champions Spain in Seville.
• England, by contrast, fell 3-2 to Spain in their campaign opener in London before beating a 10-man Czechia side 2-0 in Prague.
• England beat Croatia 4-2 in a World Cup group game on June 17 in Arlington, Texas.

Who: Croatia vs England What: UEFA Nations League 2026-27, Group A3 match Where: Rujevica Stadium, Rijeka, Croatia When: Saturday, October 3, at 6pm local time (16: 00 GMT) How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up and live updates from 13: 00 GMT.

Action in the Nations League continues this weekend with a matchday three tie between Croatia and England.

With a win and a defeat each, Croatia and England have both created a mixed start to this year's competition.

Drawn in a group alongside the reigning world champions Spain and minnows Czechia, Croatia and England find themselves in an interesting yet challenging pool.

While Luka Modric continues to defy age, still playing a vital role in Croatia's midfield even at 41, captain Harry Kane has led from the front for the Three Lions, excelling in front of goal alongside winger Anthony Gordon. Al Jazeera breaks down everything ahead of Croatia vs England. What is the UEFA Nations League?

For context, the UEFA Nations League was founded in 2018 to reduce the number of meaningless friendlies and offer nations competitive matches against top-ranked teams.

In this competition, countries from throughout Europe participate in a league structure which features promotion and relegation. How have Croatia and England played in the Nations League? Both Croatia and England have won once and lost once.

England, by contrast, fell 3-2 to Spain in their campaign opener in London before beating a 10-man Czechia side 2-0 in Prague. When did Croatia and England last meet? They last met at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

England beat Croatia 4-2 in a World Cup group game on June 17 in Arlington, Texas. While Marcus Rashford and Jude Bellingham scored a goal apiece, captain Harry Kane scored a brace. Croatia vs England: Head-to-head. Croatia vs England: Form guide. (Last five games, latest results first). Who are the top players to watch?

Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic (Croatia): The evergreen Modric, particularly much the heartbeat of the Croatian midfield even at 41 years old, scored the opening goal in their away win in Czechia. Time and again, the captain has pulled the strings in the middle of the park, proving age is just a number. His fellow experienced teammate, Perisic, is additionally chipping in style, bagging back-to-back assists.

Harry Kane and Anthony Gordon (England): The script for England has looked the same in the last two games: Gordon opens the scoring, and Kane follows suit. While that wasn't enough to beat the mighty Spain, it did the job against Czechia. Can this dynamic duo strike again? While Kane has scored six times for Bayern Munich, the numbers swing in their favour – Gordon has five assists already for Barcelona this season. Team news and predicted lineups.

Centre-back Martin Erlic is out injured until mid-October, and right-back Josip Juranovic is sidelined with illness.

England are without left-back Nico O'Reilly. This person withdrew from the squad with injury.

Probable England XI: James Trafford; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Guehi, Lewis Hall; Elliot Anderson, Miles Lewis-Skelly; Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon; Harry Kane. Croatia vs England: TV channel, livestreaming. You can find your regional broadcaster on UEFA's official broadcaster listing.

For now, croatia vs England: UEFA Nations League remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.