World Cup 2026Full time
England
Croatia| Model / version | Scoreline | Home / Draw / Away | Outcome | Exact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek V4 ProDeepSeek | 2–1 | H—D—A— | Correct | Missed |
| Gemini 3.1 ProGoogle | 2–0 | H—D—A— | Correct | Missed |
| Gemini 3.5 FlashGoogle | 2–1 | H—D—A— | Correct | Missed |
| Grok 4.3xAI | 2–1 | H—D—A— | Correct | Missed |
| Mistral Large 3Mistral | 2–1 | H—D—A— | Correct | Missed |
| GLM-5.1Z.ai | 2–0 | H—D—A— | Correct | Missed |
| Kimi K2.6Moonshot | 2–1 | H—D—A— | Correct | Missed |
| Gemma 4 31BGoogle | 2–1 | H—D—A— | Correct | Missed |
| MiMo v2.5-ProXiaomi | 2–1 | H—D—A— | Correct | Missed |
| GPT-5.5 HighOpenAI | 2–1 | H—D—A— | Correct | Missed |
| Claude Opus 4.8Anthropic | 2–0 | H—D—A— | Correct | Missed |
Outcome uses the highest probability. Exact uses the scoreline. Scoring rules
England's perfect qualifying campaign (8 wins, 8 clean sheets) and superior squad depth give them the edge, while Croatia arrive with an aging core — 40-year-old Modrić in a protective mask, Kovačić and Kramarić playing through injuries — but Croatia's tournament pedigree should still yield a goal.
England had a flawless qualifying campaign under Thomas Tuchel, and despite Livramento's withdrawal and Saka's fitness doubts, their squad depth should overpower an aging Croatia side.
England enters the tournament with a perfect qualification record under Thomas Tuchel, and while Croatia has tournament pedigree, their recent defensive struggles give the Three Lions the edge.
England are significantly stronger and better motivated for their Group L opener against an aging Croatia side; expect a narrow home win.
England enter the tournament with a strong squad despite minor injury concerns, including the absence of Tino Livramento. Croatia, while experienced, lack the depth and attacking prowess of past tournaments. England's tactical flexibility and home advantage in the region should see them edge this tightly contested match.
England won their last 10 competitive matches without conceding a goal under Tuchel and cruised through qualifying, while Croatia's ageing core (40-year-old Modric, Kovacic, Perisic) failed to advance beyond the group stage at Euro 2024 and lack the dynamism to trouble a well-organised England side.
England's superior squad depth and perfect qualifying record give them the edge, though Bukayo Saka's fitness doubt and Croatia's tournament pedigree keep this competitive.
England enters as favorites under Thomas Tuchel despite a late squad adjustment. Croatia remains competitive in possession, but England's overall squad depth and attacking quality should edge this opener.
England won all 8 qualifiers without conceding and have superior squad depth under Tuchel; despite Livramento's absence and Saka managing an Achilles issue, their overall quality and Opta's 55.9% win probability support a narrow victory over a Croatia side no longer at their 2018 peak.
England have the deeper attacking squad and Tuchel has sounded confident about their readiness, while Kane arrives in strong form; Saka's fitness concern and Livramento's withdrawal slightly temper the edge. Croatia are fully available and experienced through Modric and Kovacic, but England's pace and bench quality should narrowly decide it.
England won all eight qualifiers without conceding and are ranked 4th, with strong squad depth covering the Livramento injury; an aging Croatia side should struggle against England's pace and pressing in the Dallas heat.
EnglandCroatia