England vs Croatia: Back an England Win in Group D
England kick off their hopes of Euro 2020 glory this summer with a tough opening game against Croatia.
England enter Euro 2020 on the back of an impressive winning streak. They look solid and should defeat a lowly Croatia in a win to nil at Wembley.
England recorded back-to-back 1-0 wins against Austria and Romania in their two Euro 2020 warm-up matches.
England continued to attack and had two penalties in the second period.
Southgate’s side have won their last six internationals, including a 4-0 win against Iceland and a 2-1 victory against Poland in the World Cup qualifiers. They have conceded one goal during this run and kept five clean sheets.
Croatia were winless in their two warm-up matches ahead of Euro 2020. They were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw with Armenia before a 1-0 loss to Belgium.
Croatia have won two of their last nine matches. A run of three straight defeats to Sweden, Portugal and Slovenia came before routine wins against Cyprus and Malta.
The Vatreni have been rebuilding with youth following their 2018 World Cup final appearance.
England vs Croatia Predictions:
- England have won their last 6 matches (all competitions).
- England have won to nil in 6 of their last 8 matches (all competitions).
- England have won 15 of their 17 home games since their World Cup exit three years ago.
- England have won 3 of their last 5 matches against Croatia (all competitions).
- Croatia have lost 4 of their last 7 matches (all competitions).
- Harry Kane scored in all eight of England’s Euro 2020 qualifiers, scoring 12 times in total.
England have a 5-3 advantage against Croatia in 10 meetings with two draws.
The Three Lions beat Croatia 2-1 in their most recent meeting. Late goals from Jesse Lingard and Harry Kane earned a comeback victory in the 2018 UEFA Nations League.
England have not been at their best in their two warm-up games against Austria and Romania, but did enough to get two wins.
Croatia had England’s number in the World Cup semi-final three years ago, but the Three Lions should have enough – especially on home soil – to pick up three valuable points.
England are in good form and will be boosted by the return of key players. Croatia look low on confidence following a run of poor results.
Our prediction: England win @ 1.69
