Croatia v England: Three Lions favoured to extend recent dominance in Nations League

Croatia and England meet on Saturday, 3 October 2026, in the third round of the Nations League group stage, with England aiming to build on their recent advantage in this fixture.

The match will kick off at 16:00 GMT at Stadion HNK Rijeka. It will be broadcast by L’Equipe Live Foot in France, Nova TV in Croatia, DAZN in Spain and Germany, VTM GO in Belgium, RAI Play, Mediaset and Sky Italia in Italy, and DAZN, ORF ON and PULS 4 in Austria. SuperSport will show the game in sub-Saharan Africa, while beIN Sports holds the rights in the MENA region.

England hold the historical edge

The two countries have played each other 12 times, according to Transfermarkt data. England have won seven of those meetings, compared with three victories for Croatia, while the other two matches ended in draws.

The Three Lions have also scored more heavily across those encounters, with 26 goals to Croatia’s 15. England have won each of the three most recent meetings between the sides.

Croatia’s latest setback came on 29 September, when they were beaten 4-1 by Spain. Slaven Bilic’s side are still searching for consistency after a difficult 2026 World Cup, where they also lost to England, going down 4-2.

England began the current campaign with a 3-2 defeat by Spain, but Thomas Tuchel’s team responded with a 2-0 victory against Czechia. That result highlighted their attacking strength and gave them a more positive platform ahead of the trip to Rijeka.

England named favourites

England go into the match as the stronger side on current form. Their attacking performances under Thomas Tuchel, together with the 4-2 win over Croatia at the World Cup, make them the expected winners.

Croatia will also have to play without support from their home crowd because the match is being held behind closed doors. Despite that disadvantage and the heavy loss to Spain, the hosts are considered capable of causing England problems.

The Africafoot prediction is a 3-1 victory for England.

Betting odds listed for the match make Croatia 3.70 to win, with a draw priced at 3.60 and an England victory at 1.72.