Modric meets Kane as Croatia host England in Nations League matchday three

EXPLAINER

Heavyweights England play away to Croatia, with captain Harry Kane going up against veteran Luka Modric.

Who: Croatia vs England
What: UEFA Nations League ۲۰۲۶-۲۷, Group A۳ match
Where: Rujevica Stadium, Rijeka, Croatia
When: Saturday, October ۳, at ۶pm local time (۱۶:۰۰ GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up and live updates from ۱۳:۰۰ GMT

Action in the Nations League continues this weekend with a matchday three tie between Croatia and England.

With a win and a defeat each, Croatia and England have both made a mixed start to this year’s competition.

Drawn in a group alongside the reigning world champions Spain and minnows Czechia, Croatia and England find themselves in an interesting yet challenging pool.

Captain Harry Kane has led from the front for the Three Lions, excelling in front of goal alongside winger Anthony Gordon, while Luka Modric continues to defy age, still playing a vital role in Croatia’s midfield even at ۴۱.

Al Jazeera breaks down everything ahead of Croatia vs England:

What is the UEFA Nations League?

The UEFA Nations League was founded in ۲۰۱۸ to reduce the number of meaningless friendlies and give nations competitive matches against top-ranked teams.

In this competition, countries from across Europe participate in a league structure which features promotion and relegation.

How have Croatia and England played in the Nations League?

Both Croatia and England have won once and lost once.

Croatia started their Nations League campaign with a ۲-۱ win over Czechia in Prague before losing ۴-۱ to world champions Spain in Seville.

England, on the other hand, fell ۳-۲ to Spain in their campaign opener in London before beating a ۱۰-man Czechia side ۲-۰ in Prague.

When did Croatia and England last meet?

They last met at the ۲۰۲۶ FIFA World Cup.

England beat Croatia ۴-۲ in a World Cup group game on June ۱۷ in Arlington, Texas. Captain Harry Kane scored a brace, while Marcus Rashford and Jude Bellingham scored a goal apiece.

Croatia vs England: Head-to-head

• Matches: ۱۲
• Croatia wins: ۳
• England wins: ۷
• Draws: ۲

Croatia vs England: Form guide

(Last five games, latest results first)

Croatia: L-W-L-W-W

England: W-L-W-L-W

Who are the top players to watch?

Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic (Croatia): The evergreen Modric, very much the heartbeat of the Croatian midfield even at ۴۱ years old, scored the opening goal in their away win in Czechia. Time and again, the captain has pulled the strings in the middle of the park, proving age is just a number. His fellow experienced teammate, Perisic, is also chipping in style, bagging back-to-back assists.

Harry Kane and Anthony Gordon (England): The script for England has looked the same in the last two games: Gordon opens the scoring, and Kane follows suit. While that wasn’t enough to beat the mighty Spain, it did the job against Czechia. Can this dynamic duo strike again? The numbers swing in their favour – Gordon has five assists already for Barcelona this season, while Kane has scored six times for Bayern Munich.

Team news and predicted lineups

Croatia

Centre-back Martin Erlic is out injured until mid-October, and right-back Josip Juranovic is sidelined with illness.

Probable Croatia XI: Dominik Livakovic; Josip Stanisic, Luka Vuskovic, Josko Gvardiol, Ivan Perisic; Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic; Luka Sucic, Petar Sucic, Franjo Ivanovic; Dion Beljo

England

England are without left-back Nico O’Reilly, who withdrew from the squad with injury.

Probable England XI: James Trafford; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Guehi, Lewis Hall; Elliot Anderson, Miles Lewis-Skelly; Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon; Harry Kane

Croatia vs England: TV channel, livestreaming

• Croatia: gol
• United Kingdom: ITV۱
• United States: FOX Sports, FuboTV, ViX
• India: Sony Sports Network
• Middle East and North Africa: beIN SPORTS
• South Africa: DStv Stream

You can find your regional broadcaster on UEFA’s official broadcaster listing.