Croatia host England in the UEFA Nations League 2026-27 Group A3 on Saturday, October 3, with kickoff set for 6pm local time at Rujevica Stadium in Rijeka. It is a meeting that arrives with both sides on one win and one defeat, so neither comes in with the kind of edge that normally settles a big group game before the first whistle.
That is why Harry Kane and Luka Modric are the names drawing the most attention. Kane has led England from the front, while Modric is still doing vital work in Croatia's midfield at 41, a reminder that this is not simply a clash of two teams in form, but of two players who still shape how their sides play.
The numbers behind the build-up are tight. Croatia opened with a 2-1 win over Czechia in Prague before falling 4-1 to Spain in Seville. England started with a 3-2 loss to Spain in London and then beat a 10-man Czechia side 2-0 in Prague. That leaves both teams level after two matches, and the result in Rijeka will decide who takes a clearer position in a group that already feels compressed.
Croatia have had more than one route into the contest. Modric scored the opening goal in the win in Czechia, and Ivan Perisic has produced back-to-back assists, while England have leaned on Kane and also on Anthony Gordon. The pattern tells the story: both sides have enough sharp moments to stay alive in the group, but not enough to claim momentum outright.
There is also a familiar edge to this fixture. England beat Croatia 4-2 in a 2026 FIFA World Cup group game on June 17 in Arlington, Texas, with Kane scoring twice and Marcus Rashford and Jude Bellingham also on target. Croatia know what that meant then, but Saturday is not a rematch in memory alone. It is a group game with points that matter now, and the margin for error is already thin.
Croatia will be without Martin Erlic, who is out injured until mid-October, while Josip Juranovic is sidelined with illness. Those absences matter because a game like this often turns on who can hold shape longest when the pressure rises. The group still includes Spain and Czechia, and the Nations League exists to turn matches like this into something harder than a friendly: a real test with consequences attached.
By the time the teams meet at Rujevica Stadium in Rijeka, the question will not be whether the names are big enough. It will be which side can turn a level group into a lead, and whether Modric, still central at 41, can help Croatia do it against an England side that has already shown it can answer back.
