Can England exploit Croatia’s lack of pace at the back?

Could this be the year for Kane and England?

It is a question that has come to haunt England fans. Ever since the “Golden Generation” made a mess of their 2006 World Cup campaign, any kind of English hopes of winning their first title since 1964 has always come with a bit of scorn and humour from everyone, including the fans themselves. Opposition teams may not quite be in on the humour, which has led to situations where Leonardo Bonucci led some awfully sung “It’s coming home” mock chants with his Italian teammates after they beat England at the Wembley Stadium in the Euro 2020 final or Luka Modric slating the English press for underestimating Croatia after they won the 2018 World Cup semifinal.

Remarkably, Modric will be standing in front of England once again when the two sides face each other, this time in their opening game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the Dallas Stadium. There is speculation over whether the 40-year-old will extend his contract with AC Milan, which expires this summer but Croatia’s Tolkienesque midfield maestro has made it clear that for now, he has only one thing on his mind. “I’m focused exclusively on the tournament because I want to help the team in the best possible way,” he had told reporters.

“We respect everyone, but we’re not afraid of anyone. Now it’s up to us to prove it on the pitch. We want to make all Croatians proud.”

The man Kane will have to deal with the most would not be Modric, though. Instead, it is yet another player with a Spurs connection but one who is at the other end of his career compared to Modric, or indeed the 32-year-old Kane. 19-year-old centre back Luka Vuskovic had a breakthrough year with Hamburg this season on loan from Tottenham and has been touted as a generational talent by many.

England’s pace

England’s pace on the flanks, and Croatia’s lack of it at the back, maybe what Thomas Tuchel would be looking to exploit. Even if Saka doesn’t start the game, Noni Madueke is just as dangerous and on the other side, it could be Marcus Rashford or Anthony Gordon cutting in.

Croatia has tended to play with a back three to make up for their lack of pace at the back. It is further forward where their bucketloads of experience lay. Modric and Mateo Kovacic could both be bidding goodbye to the World Cup this year, although there really is no telling in case of the former at this point. Further up, one finds the 37-year-old Ivan Perisic who somehow continues to be formidable on the run.

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic had candidly admitted earlier this month that he would have preferred it if they were not facing the toughest opponent in their group in their first match of the tournament, citing the fact that they couldn’t really get back from the 3-0 demolition they suffered at the hands of Spain at Euro 2024. “Against England we’ll fight, try to do our best and try to win,” he had said.

However, the record four draws that was seen on Tuesday proved old refrain of there being no easy matches at the World Cup. Three of those were in matches between teams deemed as favourites against underdogs of varying degrees. The most prominent of them was that Spanish side Dalic spoke about, being incredibly held to a goalless draw by debutants Cape Verde. In normal parlance, one would consider matches against Ghana and Panama easier to win than against England or Croatia. Except this isn’t normal parlance. This is the World Cup.