England face Croatia in their World Cup 2026 opener, but how will Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions fare? We used the EA Sports FC 26 match engine to simulate the massive fixture - and we got a six-goal rollercoaster10:01, 16 Jun 2026The moment of truth is almost upon us - England’s opening World Cup 2026 fixture against Croatia is fast approaching.‌The Three Lions will take on familiar foes Croatia at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, on the outskirts of Dallas, in the Texas heat at 9pm on Wednesday, June 17. Having faced the Croatians twice in recent tournaments, this is the third meeting of the two sides in major international competition since 2018.‌The first of those three was of course the World Cup semi-final that had every England fan on the edge of their seats, as Croatia won 2-1 after extra time. Gareth Southgate’s men got their own back at Wembley, however, winning their opening Euro 2020 match 1-0 thanks to a Raheem Sterling goal.‌Now the two sides meet in Thomas Tuchel’s first game as England’s head coach in a major tournament. Will it go the way of the favourites, or will Luka Modric’s Croatia deliver a dent in England’s opening Group L fixture?To try and predict the result, we used EA Sports FC 26’s match engine. After loading up the new The World’s Game mode, we simulated the fixture - here’s what happened.England v Croatia World Cup 2026 result simulated by EA FC 26The match engine made a slight tweak to the standard England line-up, opting to bring John Stones’ experience at this level to partner Marc Guehi at centre-back. The rest of Tuchel’s starting XI in EA FC 26 was unchanged, however.‌England predicted starting XI v Croatia: Jordan Pickford; Reece James, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly; Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson; Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Marcus Rashford; Harry Kane.Unfortunately for England, they were subjected to a nightmare start to the tournament. After just four minutes, Marcus Rashford was penalised for a shove on Ante Budimir during a Croatia corner.Budimir hit his penalty kick straight down the middle, leaving goalkeeper Jordan Pickford stranded to his right. Croatia led 1-0 with only a few minutes played.‌Things got worse for England soon after. On 15 minutes, Budimir doubled the lead and his tally with a powerful header beyond Pickford from an Ivan Perisic cross.England were in real trouble now, with the Croatians happy to sit back and watch the Three Lions overplay when there were plenty of opportunities to shoot.‌Finally, after an eight-minute period that felt like forever, England ripped off a shot on target - and who else but Harry Kane to ensure it hit the back of the net?The skipper, slipped in by Elliot Anderson, buried his effort low and hard to get his team back in the game.‌England remained dominant but toothless, until the 42nd minute when Kane was denied at point blank range by Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. However, Kane had the last laugh when powering home a header from the resulting corner, delivered perfectly by Declan Rice.The teams went in level at half-time, as England battled back from a position they never needed to be in. Kane had dug England out of a hole and now his side had the momentum.It took a while for the next notable chance, but when it came, so did a mighty roar from the Three Lions’ fans behind the goal. Supersub Anthony Gordon, on for Rashford, squared the ball for Kane - and although Livakovic made the stop, he was powerless to prevent Bukayo Saka from scoring the follow-up.‌England led 3-2 on the 69th minute, putting fans through an emotional rollercoaster. But it got better just moments from time as Gordon got the goal his performance so richly deserved.Reece James’ pinpoint cross from the byline found Gordon unmarked near the penalty spot, and Barcelona’s newest signing headed home to make England safe and 4-2 up with 88 minutes played.Moments later, the final whistle went, and despite a torrid start, England earned three points in their opening Group Stage game at the 2026 World Cup.Article continues belowEngland v Croatia World Cup 2026 result predicted by EA FC 26England 4 - 2 Croatia