Croatia Faces England in Crucial World Cup Opener

Zlatko Dalic knows exactly what awaits Croatia in Dallas: a knife-edge opener that could define their entire World Cup summer.

He would never say it publicly, but the subtext is clear. For a side limping into the tournament with key players short of fitness, England in game one is just about the toughest draw imaginable.

“The first game can destroy everything,” he admitted, the words hanging heavy for a coach who has lived both sides of that truth. At Euro 2024 his team were blown away 3-0 by Spain in their opener and never recovered. In Russia in 2018, they beat Nigeria first up and rode that early surge all the way to the final. In Qatar, a solid draw with Morocco laid the foundations for a run to third place.

Croatia understand the weight of matchday one better than most. Dalic knows it can make you, or it can break you.

A bruised squad, a brutal opponent

The 2-1 win over Slovenia in Varazdin, their final friendly before flying to the United States, offered a flicker of reassurance but no real comfort. The result was welcome. The problems remain.

Mateo Kovacic and Josip Gvardiol, both from Manchester City, are still working their way back from injury. They are not alone. Luka Modric, now 38 and still the heartbeat of this team, scored a wonderfully taken goal against Slovenia while wearing a protective mask as he recovers from a fractured cheekbone. Even he is short of rhythm.

“Kovacic, Gvardiol and Modric didn’t play much for a long time and they are not in optimal form,” Dalic said. “Especially Kovacic, he hardly played this season and now we need him. It’s not easy and we need time. Gvardiol is now back but I know they are not at the optimal level. We don’t have a big roster and these are some of our most important players.”

That is the crux of Croatia’s dilemma. Their golden core is still there, still capable of hurting anyone, but the margins are thinner now. There is no vast pool of ready-made replacements to rotate in while the stars play their way into shape. Dalic must lean on them and hope their competitive instincts fill the gaps left by a lack of minutes.

All of that would be challenging against a softer opening opponent. Against England, it becomes a high-wire act.

Old scars, new realities

Dalic was the architect of one of England’s most painful modern nights, the 2018 World Cup semi-final in Moscow, when Croatia came from behind to win in extra time. That game carved deep scars into English football’s psyche, but he refused to reach for that history now.

England have since beaten Croatia twice. The psychological balance has shifted, or at least levelled out. Dalic knows that any attempt to lean on old wounds will ring hollow when the opposition is stacked with pace, goals and depth.

Instead, he focused on what this England represent right now: a formidable, attacking machine drawn largely from what he called “the best league in the world”. He praised the intensity, the speed, the offensive ambition. He also nodded approvingly at their decision to base themselves in the US well in advance, flying to Miami a week before the game despite not facing Croatia until 17 June in Dallas.

“A very strong team whose league is the best in the world and who play very offensive, very fast,” he said. “We will have to do something more.”

That “something more” is the great unknown. More discipline? More aggression? More risk? Croatia’s recent tournament history suggests they will not die wondering.

Walking into the storm

Dalic did not hide the fact he might have preferred England later in the group, when legs are warmer and rhythm more natural. But there is no way around it now. No gentle warm-up act, no time to grow into the tournament.

“We can’t choose anything else now. The first game is the most important game. Against England we’ll fight, try to do our best and try to win.”

The message to his players is blunt: embrace the storm or be swept away by it.

Croatia arrive in the US as a team caught between eras: still powered by Modric, still leaning on the warrior spirit that took them to a final and a third place in consecutive World Cups, yet increasingly aware that their margin for error is shrinking. England, fresher and deeper, will test every seam of that identity.

One game cannot win a World Cup. Dalic knows that. But he has seen, more than once, how a first game can rip the floor from under a campaign.

In Dallas, he cannot afford to watch that story repeat.