England vs Croatia Prediction and Betting Tips

The first Group D match will take place this Sunday. England will face Croatia at home, as the match kicks off at Wembley Stadium. It will be very nice to see a match between one of the favorites and the finalist from the previous World Cup. The two nations also have a dispute to settle since it was Croatia who eliminated England in the semifinals at the 2018 World Cup.

England Betting Facts

This is often the case before major international competitions and this Euro is no exception: England is among the favorites. It must be said that the Three Lions have more than a competitive team, most of whose players play in the Premier League, often described as the toughest championship in the world. They have a particularly qualitative group in the offensive field, led by Harry Kane, top scorer of the last World Cup.

The English prepared well for this Euro, making full success on last two occasions. Last March, they had a three-game winning streak in World Cup qualifiers in Qatar against San Marino (5-0), Albania (0-2), and Poland (2-1). They repeated it last week by fetching two wins in friendly matches against Austria (1-0) and Romania (1-0).

Since his arrival on the Three Lions bench, England coach Gareth Southgate has started a process of renewing his team. He was able to do this with the advent of young talent on the English league fields. This is particularly the case of Phil Foden, Manchester City's revelation this season. At his side, we will also find the young Mason Mount (Chelsea) or Declan Rice (West Ham). Dortmund wing Jadon Sancho is also in the team as he showed his dangerous one-on-one.

Croatia Betting Facts

After their loss to France in the 2018 finals, the Croatian team appeared to be at the end of the cycle. Many players are starting to weaken, although the team remains very competitive. This loss of momentum of a magnificent Croatian generation was visible during the League of Nations last fall.

In 2021, Croatia won two out of five games played. These were the qualifiers for the next World Cup, which it dominated against Cyprus (1-0) and Malta (3-0). But Croatia also allowed a defeat against Slovenia (1-0) and a draw against Armenia (1-1). Finally, they lost (1-0) a friendly match against the Belgians. This European championship, therefore, promises to be less brilliant than the last World Championship, although we will have to be cautious with the Croats.

This Croatian selection is full of talent, even if some don’t shine as brightly as at the 2018 World Cup. Several executives have retired since, such as Mandzukic and Rakitic. At this Euro, we will see Real Madrid’s star and 2018 Golden Ball winner, Luka Modric. Ivan Perisic was crowned Italian champion with Inter Milan this season. Lovren at Saint-Petersburg Zenit and Vida on Besiktas' side remain strong defenders. Matteo Kovacic won a new Champions League with Chelsea. Finally, Andrej Kramaric has been performing very well this season with Hoffenheim.