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Match report in news

End of match

End of match

  • 94'
    That's it for this one! Croatia will probably be thrilled with that result, as they looked sluggish on multiple occasions in that one. England weren't much better, but those two Rashford chances were clear-cut and should have been buried. On to the next one against Spain for Southgate's men!
  • 90'
    Four added minutes here.
  • 89'
    Sancho with a great run and floated ball the back post, but none of the England players are there to nod it in.
  • 85'
    Kramaric with a chance thanks to a nice bit of work from Jedavaj, but his effort is blocked.
Substitution

Substitution

at Croacia
  • 80'
    Rebic off, and Livaja comes on in his place.
  • 77'
    What a moment for 18 year-old Jadon Sancho! He comes on to make his competitive senior debut for his country in place of Sterling.
  • 72'
    Kovacic picks up a knock and is replaced by Badelj replaces him.
Substitution

Substitution

at Croacia
  • 68'
    Perisic is off and Pjaca comes on.
  • 66'
    Great counter-attack from Croatia, resulting in a shot from Kramaric which is sliced past the post.
  • 56'
    Another golden chance for the Man Utd man, who is put in on goal by Sterling. His shot is again tame, and again straight at the keeper.
  • 54'
    Great work from Walker, who plays in a perfect cross to find Rashford one-on-one with the keeper, but his shot is terrible and doesn't trouble Livakovic. What a missed opportunity!
  • 51'
    Stones gets a booking fro bringing Rakitic down.
  • 50'
    Great free-kick from the right from Henderson, which finds kane in the box. His header is a decent one and has the keeper beaten, but smacks the cross bar.
  • 48'
    Nice strike from Perisic on his left, but it's straight at Pickford who beats it away.
  • 46'
    England kick off the second half.
  • 45'
    That's the end of the first 45! It hasn't been the fmost exciting game of football so far, but both teams have had some chances. England have definitely had the best shot at taking the lead, especially with that Dier header, but both outfits looks like they need a bit of magic to get their evening going properly.
  • 44'
    Lovren gets a yellow card for a very Lovren-style challenge on Sterling.
  • 43'
    Dier flicks a header to the far post from a corner, but it clips the upright and none of the England players following it up can get a foot to it!
  • 40'
    Walker barges Modric over, straight in to Dier. That one had to have hurt the Real Madrid man.
  • 35'
    Handball by Chilwell, and another free-kick from a good position is wasted by Modric.
  • 31'
    Lovren penalised, and of course has an argument with the ref as a result. Another Chilwell free-kick.
  • 24'
    Kovacic rightly goes in to the book for a poorly-timed challenge on Rashford.
  • 23'
    England are doing their best to play out from the back, but the Croatian press is proving effective so far.
  • 19'
    Nicely worked corner by the hosts, as they play it short and then get it to Perisic, whose shot from the edge of the box is well blocked.
  • 18'
    Incredible forward run from Vydra as he goes in to the England half and feeds in Rebic, who wins a corner on the right.
  • 11'
    Chilwell almost puts Sterling in to score at the near post, but it's really well defended by Lovren.
Card

Yellow card

a Inglaterra
  • 6'
    Henderson judged to have fouled Rakitic. He's banned from their next match on Tuesday against Spain as a result.
  • 1'
    Croatia get the game started.
Start of match

Start of match

  • PRVW
    England manager Gareth Southgate on why he has changed the formation: "We think it’s time for the team to evolve a bit. 3-5-2 has been fantastic for us, we maximised the talents of the players across the summer. But in a couple of the matches against the better teams, we’ve suffered a bit without the ball. So we want to look at a back four, and think it suits the players we’re playing tonight. It still gives us the opportunity to move the ball and be a threat, but hopefully will cover the spaces
  • PRVW
    England have ditched their back three, which has been in place for the last 6 months, and will go for a 4-3-3 formation.
  • PRVW
    If you're wondering why there are no fans at the stadium, it's not because no one in Croatia is bothered about the game. The home team are serving a ban for a Swastika being on the pitch in their previous UEFA game, a Euro 2016 qualifier against Italy.
  • PRVW
    Ross Barkley has not put on an England shirt for two years, but will hope to be on top form against his Chelsea team-mate Kovacic.
  • PRVW
    Croatia's midfield trio of Ivan Rakitic, Mateo Kovacic and Luka Modric are potentially the best in international football, and if Croatia are to be successful tonight it will eminate from these three.
  • PRVW
    England only lost out to Spain by 2-1, but will be conscious of what the Croatian midfield was able to do on that night in Moscow. That seems to by Southgate has gone for a defensive-looking midfield of Henderson and Dier.
  • PRVW
    Croatia may have beaten England in the semi-finals of the World Cup, but their 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Spain will have dealt a huge blow to their confidence.
  • PRVW
    England will line up as follows: Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Chilwell, Barkley, Henderson, Dier, Kane, Sterling, Rashford.
  • PRVW
    Here's how Croatia will look: Livakovic, Jedvaj, Lovren, Vida, Pivaric, Kovacic, Rakitic, Kramaric, Modric, Perisic, Rebic.
Info

Pre-match

12 October 2018, 20:45

Referee: Felix Brych

Stadium: Opus Arena

  • PRVW
    Hello and welcome to this vital Nations League match up between Croatia and England.