England and Croatia seem destined to meet at major tournaments. The pair faced off at Euro 2004, at the 2018 World Cup and at Euro 2020. England won the first and most recent of those encounters, while Croatia famously came out on top in the 2018 World Cup semifinal.
Now, the duo meet again at AT&T Stadium. England enter the tournament on the back of a flawless qualifying campaign, winning every match and conceding no goals. However, recent friendlies have been less convincing, with defeats to Japan, a draw against Uruguay and a narrow victory over New Zealand.
Croatia also impressed in qualifying, winning all eight of its matches while conceding just four goals. Like England, though, Zlatko Dalić’s side has shown some vulnerability in the buildup to the tournament, suffering defeats to Brazil and Belgium before edging past Slovenia.
With England still haunted by the events of 2018 and Croatia eager to avenge its Euro 2020 defeat, there is no shortage of motivation on either side.
