England begin World Cup 2026 against Croatia as Tuchel's new-look side takes on Modrić's veterans in Texas

Debut in Arlington

England face Croatia in their opening Group L fixture at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, tonight (22:00 CEST, with RTVE's broadcast starting at 21:00). The match will be shown free-to-air on La 1 and RTVE Play in Spain, and on DAZN across Europe. The stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, hosts this heavyweight clash as both sides begin their 2026 World Cup journey. England completed an eight-match qualifying campaign unbeaten, scoring 22 goals and conceding none.

Squad decisions and injury blow

Manager Thomas Tuchel has left out Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, a controversial call that drew criticism from English media. "We have the right to dream, but we must not be delusional," Tuchel said on Tuesday. England also lost defender Timo Livramento to injury hours before the opener; Trevoh Chalobah has been called up as his replacement. Up front, Harry Kane will lead the line after a prolific season at Bayern Munich, where he netted 36 Bundesliga goals in 31 games and added 14 Champions League strikes in 13 outings.

“We have the right to dream, but we must not be delusional.”

Croatia's pedigree

Croatia, under Zlatko Dalić, are playing their seventh World Cup and have reached the podium three times, most notably as runners-up in 2018. Luka Modrić, now in his fifth tournament, captains the side after recovering from a facial injury sustained in April. The sides have a dramatic World Cup history: Croatia knocked England out in the 2018 semi-finals and later eliminated Brazil on penalties.

Full group picture

The match is the first of the day in Group L, with Ghana facing Panama later. England will also meet Ghana on 23 June and Panama on 27 June. The group is widely seen as competitive, though England's squad depth makes them the favourites to progress.