Croatia vs England Prediction & Betting Tips

Form check: England rolling, Croatia up and down

England arrive with a strong recent record, winning nine of their last 14 and losing just three. That run includes a string of World Cup wins over the summer, a wild 6-4 win away at France, and a 4-2 win over Croatia themselves in the group stage. They've also been got at occasionally, with defeats to Argentina, Japan and Senegal mixed in among the good results.

Croatia: 9 completed matches; England: 15 completed matches.

Croatia

9 matches

Win

55.6% 5 / 9

Draw

0% 0 / 9

Loss

44.4% 4 / 9

Scored

13

Conceded

15

Difference

-2

England

15 matches

Win

60% 9 / 15

Draw

13.3% 2 / 15

Loss

26.7% 4 / 15

Scored

31

Conceded

20

Difference

+11

Croatia's form has been far more up and down. In their last eight they've won four and lost four, scoring 11 and conceding 14. Wins over Ghana, Panama, Slovenia and Colombia sit alongside losses to Portugal, Belgium, Brazil and that game against England.

England go into this with the tidier recent record, but Croatia have shown they can beat decent opposition when things click.

Comparative Team Statistics: Croatia vs England

Head-to-head: recent meetings lean England's way

These two have met five times in the data here, going back to the 2018 World Cup semi-final, which Croatia won 2-1 on home soil. Since then it's been tighter, with a 0-0 draw and an England win in the 2018 Nations League, then a narrow 1-0 for England at the 2021 Euros. The most recent meeting came at this summer's World Cup, where England won 4-2.

Recent history favours England, though Croatia's 2018 win is a reminder they can raise their level against this opponent when it counts.

What kind of game might we get?

Both sides have been involved in goals lately. England's recent sample has several matches with three or more goals at each end, while Croatia have both scored and conceded fairly freely without settling into anything tight. That points towards another game where goals are possible for both teams, though a Nations League fixture can play out differently to a World Cup match, so it's not a given.

Key player statistics: Croatia vs England

Croatia:

Best scorers:

Marco Pasalic - 1