In their much- awaited first match of the UEFA Euro 2020, England will host Croatia at the Wembley Stadium. What makes the match even more interesting for the football fans is that the face -off is between two of the promising teams of Group D.
The Three Lions have a good historical record against Croatia of winning five games out of a total of 10 matches played between the two teams. has been performing exceptionally good of late under Gareth Southgate. The team has been on a six-match winning streak. They have scored 11 goals in the last five matches and have conceded only one goal in the process. Expected to have a strong chance of lifting the trophy this summer, with players like Harry Kane, the England team has the right resources to trouble Croatia this weekend. The skipper’s performance will play a crucial role in his team’s success. He has scored 23 goals and 14 assists in the Premier League, Mason Mount on the other hand has been impressive for Chelsea and the 16 goals he scored makes it the focal point of expectations for the England team.
Even though Croatia have managed three victories against England, the team has not been at their best in recent weeks and will need to find their feet against England this weekend. They had suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Belgium in a friendly before the tournament and therefore must try their best to prove their point in this match. They have only won three of their last 11 matches. The Croatians did put forward a good performance for the rest of the matches as well. However, were let down by defensive lapses. Playing without veterans Ivan Rakitic and Mario Mandzukic, who are retired from international football, Croatia will start the tournament on the backfoot. Modric, 35 is the teams best weapon against England.
The two European sides famously clashed in the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup and where Croatia defeated the Three lions for 2-1. The winning goal of Croatia was taken by Mario Mandzukic, who was part of the team in the 2018 World Cup semi-final. With their previous victory in 2007, Croatia’s 2018 win is their best performance against England in the last 14 years and in any international tournament. England bounced back later that year with a win of their own in the UEFA Nations League.