The 60-year-drought for England to win a major trophy sees the Three Lions visit the home of the land and free, as their opening game sees them face familiar foes in Croatia. These two sides met in England's opening game of Euro 2020, where a single goal from Raheem Sterling separated the two sides.
The two sides last met in the semi-finals of the World Cup back in 2018, where England were beaten in Extra-Time 2-1, after Kieran Trippier sent the Three Lions into raptures with a wonderful free kick in the first half.
Now under the management of former Champions League winner Thomas Tuchel, England looks to achieve success in America. England qualified for the World Cup with a perfect record, with a maximum of 24 points, 22 goals scored, and no goals conceded in any of their qualifying fixtures. In fact, England has conceded only once in their previous nine international matches (including friendly fixtures). England's preparation brought two wins and a much-improved performance against Costa Rica, with Anthony Gordon impressing.
Harry Kane enters the tournament off the back of his best individual season to date, scoring an eyewatering 61 goals in all competitions, a tally that helped him win the European Golden Shoe for the second time in his career. Tuchel has built the squad around the captain any success England might have this summer will be dependent on his contributions.
As for Croatia, their squad has a wealth of experience with the likes of Luka Modric (Milan) and Mateo Kovacic. Similar to England, the Croatians finished top of their group with 22 points gained; however, their World Cup preparation has seen them lose two of their previous four matches with defeats to Brazil and Belgium.
The Three Lions are expected to win here, to kick off the campaign and with their solid defensive structure, a routine 2-0 win should be on the cards.
England 2-0 Croatia
