England vs. Croatia Prediction, Picks, Lineups for World Cup 2026

England and Croatia will both get their 2026 World Cup underway on Wednesday, June 17, at 4:00 p.m. ET on FOX (English) and Telemundo/Peacock (Spanish). The game will be played at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

According to PrizePicks Team Picks, England is a decent favorite with a 1.66x payout to secure a win.

Before Wednesday’s match kicks off, England is expected to be the team to beat in Group L, while Croatia could be right behind them. Ghana and Panama are the other teams in Group L that are trying to qualify for the knockout stage.

Below, we’ll break down our England vs. Croatia prediction and picks for Wednesday night’s World Cup 2026 match, including the spread, total goals, and key player picks for PrizePicks.

Make your England vs. Croatia prediction and World Cup picks on PrizePicks now!

{{worldcup_generic_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}

England vs. Croatia World Cup 2026 Prediction, Spread, Over/Under – Wednesday, June 17

How to watch England vs. Croatia: FOX (English) / Telemundo/Peacock (Spanish)

Kickoff Time: 4:00 p.m. ET

Venue: AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas

Group: Group L

England enters the 2026 World Cup with sky-high expectations, and this match against Croatia is one of the better ones — at least on paper — in the group stage. Manager Thomas Tuchel also carries a ton of pressure on his shoulders, especially after hand-picking an England squad that left out notable players.

Nevertheless, England cruised through UEFA World Cup qualifying, finishing as one of the two teams to go 8-0-0. Even with all the talent that The Three Lions possess, make no mistake about it, F Harry Kane will need to bag plenty of goals for England to advance in this tournament.

In addition to having the lowest payout to win Group L (1.35x), England boasts the fourth-lowest payout to win the World Cup (7.69x).

It’s impossible for Croatia to go overlooked on a national stage after finishing in third place at the 2022 World Cup and as runners-up at the 2018 World Cup. That being said, not many people are giving them a chance to top England in Group L.

Experience also won’t be lacking for Croatia, with manager Zlatko Dalic coaching the team since 2017, and 40-year-old MF Luka Modric still being an engine of the attack. It remains to be seen whether the mileage on the legs of Croatia's experienced players becomes an issue in the American heat.

This is one of the more competitive group-play matchups in the 2026 World Cup, per our power rankings, with England fourth and Croatia 10th.

England vs. Croatia: Favorite to Win, Spread, Total Goals – Wednesday, June 17

England enters Wednesday’s game as the favorites, returning a 1.66x payout if they win outright, via PrizePicks Team Picks. Meanwhile, Croatia will look to try to match England’s energy.

Here are the full payouts for the England vs. Croatia match on PrizePicks.

Winner Payout: Croatia – 4.76x | Tie – 3.44x | England – 1.66x

Spread: England -1.5 (2.85x Payout) 

Total Goals: 2.5 (Over – 2.04x)

Both Teams to Score: Yes 1.92x | No 1.81x

Payouts show potential returns on correct Team Picks predictions. A 2x payout returns $200 on a $100 entry. Lower multipliers reflect outcomes users are picking as more likely. Payouts are live as of writing and subject to change.

Make your England vs. Croatia prediction on spread or goals on PrizePicks Team Picks — available in 35 states!

England vs. Croatia Prediction on Spread for World Cup 2026 

Here are the key stats and trends for England vs. Croatia before making your World Cup 2026 predictions on PrizePicks.

• While England was dominant in UEFA World Cup qualifying en route to outscoring opponents 22-0, Croatia was also formidable with a +22 goal difference in the same competition.
• England has beaten New Zealand and Costa Rica in recent international friendlies, but they lost to a notable opponent like Japan and drew against Uruguay earlier this year.
• During World Cup qualifying, Croatia was second in xG difference (20.3) and second in shots on target per match (8.5), via FotMob.
• Meanwhile, England was fourth in xG difference (18.6) and fifth in shots on target per match (7.9).
• Both these teams were also similar in possession during qualifying, with England first (74.4%) and Croatia fifth (70.0%).
• There are still questions surrounding who England will start in certain spots, and there are some concerns with their back line to start the tournament.

Lock in your England vs. Croatia prediction for the 2026 World Cup now!

{{worldcup_generic_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}

England vs. Croatia Lineups for World Cup 2026 – Wednesday, June 17

Here are the projected England vs. Croatia lineups for Wednesday's World Cup group stage match. Lineups are not official and are based on historical data.

England Lineup vs. Croatia Today

Projected Formation: 4-2-3-1

• Goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford
• Defense: Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi, John Stones, Reece James
• Midfield: Elliott Anderson, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham
• Forwards: Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka

Croatia Lineup vs. England Today

Projected Formation: 4-2-3-1

• Goalkeeper: Dominik Livakovic
• Defense: Josko Gvardiol, Josip Sutalo, Luka Vuskovic, Josip Stanisic
• Midfield: Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric, Martin Baturina
• Forwards: Ante Budimir

England vs. Croatia Picks, Player Stats for World Cup: 6/17/26

Here are the top England vs. Croatia player picks to target on PrizePicks for Wednesday, June 17. Today’s World Cup 2026 picks are headlined by Harry Kane and Andrej Kramaric.

England F Harry Kane vs. Croatia 

Harry Kane Projections via PrizePicks: 3 Shots, 1.5 Shots on Target (Demon), 0.5 Goals (Demon)

• At World Cup qualifying, Harry Kane had the third-most shots per 90 (4.1) and second-most shots on target per 90 (2.1) on England’s roster.
• In a stellar Bundesliga campaign for Bayern Munich in which he scored 36 goals, Kane had the second-most shots per 90 (4.5) and most shots on target per 90 (2.5) in the league.
• Kane also notched 3 or more shots in five of the six WC qualifying matches in which he logged at least 90 minutes.
• Plus, Kane scored 8 goals in qualifying, and he found the back of the net in nine of his last 12 Bundesliga matches.

Combine England + Harry Kane World Cup picks for bigger payouts on PrizePicks

Croatia MF Andrej Kramaric vs. England

Andrej Kramaric Projections via PrizePicks: 1.5 Shots, 30.5 Passes Attempted, 0.5 Goal + Assist (Demon)

• Besides being the leading scorer (6) for Croatia in qualifying, Andrej Kramaric produced multiple shots in six of his eight appearances.
• Moreover, Kramaric made at least 31 passes in five of his eight outings in qualifying.
• Kramaric had a solid output of 15 goals for Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga across 36 matches.
• Per 90 minutes in qualifying for Croatia, Kramaric paced the team in xG per 90 (0.88).

Combine Croatia + Andrej Kramaric World Cup picks for bigger payouts on PrizePicks

{{worldcup_generic_offer_banner="/style-system/ui-components-playbook"}}

Make Your England vs. Croatia Prediction on PrizePicks

England and Croatia appear to be one of the more competitive matchups in the group stage at the 2026 World Cup. Will the score be close when the final whistle blows?

Don’t wait until lock — make your England vs. Croatia picks on PrizePicks now and earn real money if you’re right on every World Cup game.

Pick World Cup players, predict More or Less on their stats, and cash in if you’re right. With Team Picks, you can make predictions on World Cup match winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 35 states.

Stay locked in on Playbook for daily World Cup 2026 predictions, picks, news, and analysis.