England only need a point from their final two Nations League matches to seal a place in the last eight. Croatia stand in the way and they will be hoping to gain some revenge for that humiliating 7-0 defeat to the Three Lions a few weeks ago.
England eyeing Nations League glory
Winning the Nations League won’t make up for failing to lift the World Cup, but it would prove Thomas Tuchel is seeing progress. Not since the inaugural Nations League campaign in 2018/19 have England reached the finals. A point against the Croatians would see them ease into the next stage.
That 7-0 thrashing in Rijeka was England’s finest performance under Tuchel; perhaps their finest performance of the decade. The Three Lions have now scored 12 goals across their last three fixtures, and conceded none. The German manager will be looking for another goal fest this time around also.
Harry Kane will be expected to lead the charge and it is a special night for the Bayern Munich frontman. He will earn his 126th cap on Thursday evening, overtaking Peter Shilton as the highest capped England men’s player of all time. Add in 91 goals for his country and Kane is certainly in the conversation to be one of the best players England has every produced. Will he add an international trophy to his resume before retiring, however?
Should England continue this rich vein of form, he will have every chance next summer.
Slaven Bilić has struggled during his second spell with Croatia
Bilić’s first spell is fondly remembered, especially for some decent performances at Euro 2008, but his second stint in charge of the national side hasn’t gone to plan thus far. Three competitive games, three loses. The two defeats to Spain were perhaps expected, but there is no forgiving shipping seven goals against England.
That was Croatia’s largest ever defeat. A trip to Wembley certainly comes at the wrong time, but Bilić did lead the nation to a superb 3-2 win here in November 2007, denying the home side a place at Euro 2008 in the process. Summoning a similar sort of performance might well be needed if Croatia are to take anything from this game, especially given England’s recent stranglehold in this fixture.
Indeed, since then, England have only lost to their opponents once in the subsequent 19 years. That World Cup semi-final loss in 2018 was devastating, but four successive wins over Croatia have gone some way to make up for it.
Bilić’s aim on Thursday will be to make his defense far more robust. Should he accomplish that, there is every chance the Croatians can grab at least a point.
Team news
Marc Guéhi and Ezri Konsa are both absent through injury. This was good news for Dan Burn, who was selected to replace Guéhi, and Bournemouth center-back James Hill, who received his first senior call-up to lend depth to the back line. Myles Lewis-Skelly is suspended after receiving two bookings.
Croatia’s list of missing players is much longer. Ivan Perišić is suspended due to being sent off against Spain during the last international break. Josip Šutalo, Andrej Kramarić, Marin Pongračić, Kristijan Jakić and Franjo Ivanović are all ruled out from injury. Luka Sučić is apparently ill, and won’t be playing. All this gives Bilić somewhat of a selection headache.
Prediction
England have the upper hand in this fixture over the previous eight years and that should continue at Wembley on Thursday evening. A repeat of the 7-0 thrashing may be unlikely, but the Three Lions will be aiming to seal a fairly comfortable win.
England 3 – 0 Croatia.
