England and Croatia open their World Cup campaign against each other on the first day of Group L, with Josip Šutalo part of a night that will quickly test both sides. The match at Dallas Stadium starts at 22:00 ET, and it lands at a moment when England are expected to push for the group win while Croatia arrive with a captain who has spent a decade setting the standard.
For England, the spotlight is on Harry Kane. He scored 61 goals for Bayern München last season, and the numbers attached to him are hard to ignore: since the World Cup 2022, England have won 29 percent of their matches without him and 76 percent with him. Kane has also scored eight times in the last two World Cups, which is why his presence changes how England are read before a ball is kicked.
That is also why this opening game is drawing attention now. England qualified with 24 out of 24 points and did not concede a single goal in that campaign, then beat Costa Rica 3-0 in their final warm-up after a draw against Uruguay and a loss to Japan in March. Thomas Tuchel is taking charge at his first major tournament as England coach, and he did it after leaving Phil Foden, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer and Harry Maguire at home. England still begin the tournament as favourites, but the shape of that status looks different when four established names are missing.
Croatia bring a different kind of certainty. Zlatko Dalic has been in charge for more than nine years, has taken them to five straight major tournaments and has already delivered two World Cup podium finishes. Luka Modric starts his fifth and final World Cup with 196 caps for Croatia, after being voted the World Cup's Best Player in 2018 and winning the Golden Ball that year. If he reaches 200 caps in this tournament, it will mean four more appearances in a competition Croatia have turned into familiar territory.
The friction in this match is that both teams arrive with something to prove, but only one of them is doing it with a reshaped selection. England's qualifying run and Croatia's tournament pedigree can both be cited as strengths, yet Tuchel's first major test comes without some of his most recognisable options. Croatia, meanwhile, know exactly what Modric represents and what his final World Cup could become. The opening whistle will not settle that balance, but it will show quickly whether England's status survives the absences and whether Modric can keep the countdown to 200 caps alive.
