England’s lineup features: Pickford, Konsa, O’Reilly, Stones, James, Rice, Anderson, Bellingham, Kane, Gordon, and Madueke.
Croatia counters with Livakovic, Stanisic, Gvardiol, Sutalo, Vuskovic, Modric, Pasalic, Baturina, Sucic, Perisic, and Musa.
As the soccer stars prepare to clash in Texas, a vibrant art scene has emerged in Shoreditch, east London. Keith Williams shares his sketching of England fans at the Old Blue Last, and the artwork is certainly worth appreciating.
More insights from Arlington come from a Guardian football writer and occasional meteorologist, Ed Aarons.
“Dunno if it’s of interest but I’m sketching the England fans at the Old Blue Last,”
Some early team news arrives courtesy of Jacob Steinberg.
“As predicted in today’s Super Soaraway Guardian, Jude Bellingham gets the nod at No10 for England. Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke are on the flanks, with the latter preferred to Bukayo Saka, who’s been trying to shake off an Achilles problem. Ezri Konsa is picked over Marc Guehi in central defense too.”
Time To Kill pt III. Our comprehensive Player Guide features every single player going to North America this summer, with brief bios written by experts from around the globe. Contains no trace of Trent Alexander-Arnold, and that’s an Official Guardian Guarantee™.
Time To Kill pt II. Bracketology allows you to curate your very own World Cup pipe dream. Click yon, drag hither, plot a route, reconfigure. Or if you’ve not got that much precious time to waste, hit shuffle and see what pops up. I’ve just done that and Curaçao have beaten Iraq in the final. Once again – because it’s the second time I’ve tested and trailed the shuffle feature – England didn’t get out of their group, and I’m beginning to suspect the coding for this was done in Glasgow. Anyway, it’s good fun, so get on it!
Time To Kill pt I. You want preview pieces? We got preview pieces.
It’s day seven of the 2026 World Cup, and finally England are on their way. They are Tom’s 26. Hear the roar, of the red, white and … ah who remembers that cheesy old song anyway? Point is, after an interminable wait, England are at long last getting down to business.
The choice of Croatia as their opening opponents raises some questions. On one hand, England boasts a youthful and dynamic team on the rise, while many of Croatia’s core players are in their 30s, including their captain, Luka Modric, who is now in his fifth decade. Conversely, Croatia has a track record of success, having reached the final in 2018 and the semifinals in 2022, and their wealth of experience could prove invaluable.
Additionally, historical context matters. England has triumphed in their last two encounters with Croatia, in November 2018 and Euro 2020, but the significant matches from the past went in Croatia’s favor — notably the Euro 2008 qualifiers and the 2018 World Cup semifinal, which left lasting scars. Thus, while England may have preferred to kick off against teams like Panama or Ghana, here we are. The question remains: can England succeed this time? Kick-off is scheduled for 9 PM BST, 3 PM local time at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium in Arlington, Texas. It’s on!
