England and Croatia will face each other in Group J of the 2026 World Cup, to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, in a rematch of their 2018 World Cup semifinal in Russia. That match allowed the Balkan team to advance to the final of the tournament. According to the Argentine News Agency, this is the only precedent between the two teams in the World Cup. They are joined in this group by Ghana and Panama. At the 2026 World Cup, the match between Croatia and England will be the most important in Group L. Both teams also faced each other two World Cups prior. In one of the semifinals of the 2018 tournament, the Balkan team defeated the English 2-1 in extra time to advance to the final, which France would later win 4-2.
Kieran Trippier put England on the scoreboard, while Ivan Perišić and Mario Mandžukić secured the victory for Croatia in extra time.
