England vs Croatia: Prediction, Odds and Betting Tips

England meets their old rivals, Croatia, in their opening game at EURO 2020. Check out the preview odds and pick for this event.

Euro 2020 (2021)

The English team is under massive pressure to win EURO 2020 because the semifinals and finals occur in London. They are starting the campaign against the runners-up from the last World Cup, Croatia, who is not as strong as before but is still an exceptional unit. If you remember, England lost to this opponent in the semifinals back in Russia. Gareth Southgate had several bad news lately, as some of his players picked up injuries. It will be interesting to see how he absorbs those negative impacts.

Preview

England

The Three Lions have six straight wins, with a goal difference of 15-1. That sole goal conceded was against Poland in the World Cup qualifiers at Wembley. Overall in the previous 10 games, this unit has 8 wins and two defeats, and what is noticeable is that eight games saw both teams not score during this period.

And that is something characteristic for Southgate’s team because he prefers to play defensive-minded football, with lots of running, focusing on counter-attacks, and fast transition.

England has one of the quickest teams in the world, which allows them to play like that, and Southgate found the perfect formula on how to fit in all the pieces of the puzzle.

Croatia

The silver-medalists from Russia come to this competition much weaker than three years ago. They still have masterclass players like Luka Modric and Marcelo Brozovic but are not as confident as before.

Croatia has just three wins in the previous 10 games, with five losses and two draws. They would lose to all the top teams in Europe during the UEFA Nations League, often performing like an average team. Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, France all these sides scored at least twice against the Croats.

The main reason for that is slow defenders, who are near retirement. Head coach Zlatko Dalic has solid options upfront, but when it comes to the backline, the 54-year old hasn’t got many choices.

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England vs Croatia Possible Line-Ups

England: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Shaw; Trippier, Rice, Phillips, Chilwell; Mount, Grealish; Kane

Croatia: Livakovic; Vrsaljko, Vida, Caleta-Car, Barisic; Brozovic, Kovacic; Rebic, Modric, Perisic; Petkovic

England vs Croatia Head to Head

England lost in the World Cup semis against Croatia following extra-time, 2-1. It was a very frustrating game for all the English fans because their favorites missed a ton of chances. After that, these teams met in the UEFA Nations League. The opening leg in Zagreb saw a goalless draw, and the rematch in England finished with the hosts’ 2-1 victory.

England vs Croatia Pick

England never opened one EURO tournament with a win. We believe that the time has come for them to break that nasty tradition. Not only do they meet the rivals who often delivered pain to them in the past, but they also have home-court advantage, meaning that the Three Lions have massive motivation. With all due respect towards the Croatian team, we just can’t see them avoiding a defeat on Sunday afternoon. Simply, England is better and will win.