International football is back in our lives and while the World Cup has been and gone, and while the European Championships are still just under two years away, it feels like there’s a bit more excitement about the upcoming set of fixtures that there usually would be at this point in the season. Don’t get us wrong, most fans would still much rather see some domestic football this weekend, but given that this is a mandatory requirement it makes sense to just sit back and enjoy watching some of the world’s best players in a different kind of environment.

Another reason as to why people are probably more optimistic is the UEFA Nations League. While we’re yet to really see whether or not it’s been a good creation (and we won’t be able to for a few years), it’s certainly something different and it’s hard to fault that. We’re getting to see some of the biggest and best sides across Europe competing against one another, although there’s certainly an argument to be made that it kind of ruins the eventual match-ups between these teams in major tournaments. Why? Because much like combat sports, we want these meetings to feel special.

Anyway, regardless of the politics or logic behind it all, we just want to enjoy some great football – and we believe that’s what we’re going to get when Croatia and England meet in Rijeka. Whenever these two sides go head to head it always feels like a big deal, and we almost always get some tight games because of it. Both sides did tremendously well for themselves at the 2018 FIFA World Cup earlier this year, but instead of dwelling on the past, they’ll want to look ahead to the future as the preparations for Euro 2020 get underway across the continent.

The game is actually going to be played behind closed doors, which could make for quite an intriguing atmosphere. We’ve seen closed door games taking place in the past, but on this kind of stage, it’ll be interesting to see how both nations deal with it. The Croats won’t be able to thrive off of any kind of noise generated by their home fans, whereas Gareth Southgate will be able to communicate with his players much more so than he would’ve if there were thousands of screaming supporters for the World Cup finalists. Still, you have to wonder just how much these factors will matter when push comes to shove.

The Croatian national team have been on something of a rollercoaster ride across their last six games, starting with their road towards the World Cup final in the knockout stages. They drew consecutive games with Denmark and Russia with many wondering whether or not they’d be capable of prevailing, but on both occasions, they came through the games with penalty shootout victories that thrust them into the final four of the tournament. Then, as we all now know, they defeated England 2-1 in extra time to ensure that they booked their spot in football’s biggest game.

Then we have the English, who came oh so close and yet oh so far to bringing football home for the first time since 1966. Their Round of 16 journey saw them win a penalty shootout for the first time in what feels like forever, with Colombia being their victims. Then, they put in a solid performance against Sweden to progress with a 2-0 victory, before coming face to face with the very team that they’ll play this week – Croatia. They were defeated 2-1 in extra time, and you can bet that they’ve got their eyes firmly set on revenge.

That game wasn’t the only time they’ve faced off, though, with England actually leading 4-3 in the overall head to head rankings with one draw between the two nations. They first played one another back in 1996 but their meetings have been fairly sporadic since then, although their rivalry really escalated back in 2007 when Croatia defeated England 3-2 on a rainy night at Wembley to ensure they would not qualify for UEFA Euro 2008. They haven’t forgotten about that night, and given everything that’s happened since then, it feels like this feud between the two countries is only just really getting started.

In terms of team news, Dejan Lovren and Ante Rebic will be returning to the line-up, but Sime Vrsaljko, Marcelo Brozovic, Borna Barisic, Lovre Kalinic and Duje Cop have all been ruled out of the squad courtesy of injuries. Croatia will be looking to bounce back after failing to win in their last three games, which includes the WC final defeat against France, a 1-1 draw with Portugal, and a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Spain – which is the kind of game that many fans would’ve tipped them to win during the actual tournament itself. Alas, such is the nature of this cruel game we call football.

For the visitors, it seems as if we’re ushering in a period of change under Gareth Southgate, with Luke Shaw and James Tarkowski’s injuries opening the door for Ben Chilwell and Lewis Dunk to enter the squad. As well as that James Maddison, Mason Mount and Jadon Sancho have all been called up to the senior team, which serves as a huge sign of intent from Southgate. They’ve also had a rocky road since that game against Croatia, as they lost the 3rd place play-off against Belgium and a Nations League game against Spain before just edging out a narrow win over Switzerland.

Croatia vs England Betting Prediction

The fact that this game is being played behind closed doors is going to change everything, because at its core, this is now simply going to be about which team can execute their game plan better. There’s going to be no influence from the crowd, the managers will be able to have more control, and both starting XIs can just relax a little bit more. We think Croatia are going to be slow out of the gate, especially after their last outing against Spain, which could open the door for the visitors in a big way.

We’re predicting England to take the lead early on in the first half, before grinding their way towards half time. Then, in a similar manner to the WC semi-final between these two, we think Croatia will equalise after catching England off guard. We don’t think they’ll go on to win the game, though, with both teams sharing the points in what is shaping up to be one of the more entertaining showdowns in an international break that is littered with good matches.

Either way, we should be in for a treat.

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