England opens their Euros 2020 campaign with a high-profile battle against Croatia as some of the English fans are looking at the match as the perfect revenge for the semi-final defeat in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The Three Lions are one of the favourites to win the continental tournament after a rout in the qualification campaign where Gareth Southgate’s side scored 37 goals and conceded only 6 in reply in 8 matches.
On the other hand, the Kockasti topped a group that had European heavyweights like Wales, Slovakia, and Hungary, with Zlatko Dalic’s team amassing 17 points from 8 matches.
The two sides will have a go at each other at the Wembley Stadium, where England has never lost a match in a major tournament excluding penalty shoot-outs.
Team News
Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson is slowly getting back to full fitness for England, which could prove to be crucial against a Croatia team full of high-level midfielders like Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic, Inter’s Marcelo Brozovic, and the skipper Luka Modric. Harry Maguire is expected to miss out in the first couple of group fixtures, with either Tyrone Mings or Ben White expected to fill in for the Manchester United skipper in the English starting XI.
Croatia has most of their key players available to start against England but they are not the same mighty side that beat England back in Russia at the World Cup. Since then, striker Mario Mandzukic, goalkeeper Danijel Subasic, and key midfielder Ivan Rakitic have called an end to their international careers, leaving huge holes in the national team.
Key Players
England would be relying on their skipper and the 2018 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot winner Harry Kane to score the majority of the goals for the star-studded side. The Tottenham Hotspurs striker recently won both the Golden Boot and the Best Playmaker award in the 2020-21 season of the Premier League.
West Ham United star man Declan Rice had a huge hand in helping the Hammers qualify for the 2021-22 Europa League campaign. Rice’s work rate and reading of the game would be crucial against one of the best midfield contingents in the tournament.
Croatia would be hugely reliant on their skipper Luka Modric as the Real Madrid midfielder is an experienced campaigner and can help create chances for the new-look forward line of his national side.
Ante Rebic had an injury-ridden season with AC Milan, but sharing the dressing room with legends like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mario Mandzukic has certainly helped the 27-year old add a couple of new tricks in his game. The Milan forward had 18 goal contributions in 27 Serie A matches and would be looking to translate that to the Euros 2020.
Prediction
England has a young squad going into the tournament, and many stars who were involved in the 2021 UEFA Champions League final like Phil Foden, Mason Mount, Kyle Walker, and Ben Chilwell are expected to feature for the Three Lions. The star quality of Gareth Southgate’s side makes them slight favourites for the big clash between England and Croatia.
Croatia comes into the 2020 UEFA European Championship an imbalanced unit with their midfield options stacked with elite playmakers, but not a single defender one would be able to call world-class without a doubt in their head. The quality of Ivan Perisic, Modric, Rebic, Kovacic, and Andrej Kramaric could prove to be too much for the Three Lions’ young defensce.
