Croatia Faces England in World Cup Opener: A Defining Match for Dalic
Zlatko Dalic knows exactly what is coming. England, Dallas heat, and a World Cup opener that could define Croatia’s entire summer before it has even begun.
He would rather it wasn’t like this.
“Maybe, because the first game can destroy everything,” he admitted when asked if he’d have preferred to face England later in the group. The memory of Euro 2024 still bites: a 3-0 defeat to Spain in their first match, and the campaign never recovered. Croatia fell, and never found a way back.
This time, the stakes feel just as sharp.
A heavyweight opener, a bruised squad
Croatia signed off their preparations with a 2-1 win over Slovenia in Varazdin before flying to the United States, but the scoreline disguises the headaches Dalic is juggling. Form is patchy. Fitness is fragile. The core of a golden generation is still there, but it is creaking.
The Manchester City pair of Mateo Kovacic and Josip Gvardiol are both on the comeback trail from injury. Luka Modric, the eternal reference point of this team, is playing through a fractured cheekbone, protected by a mask and driven by habit and pride more than rhythm.
“Kovacic, Gvardiol and Modric didn’t play much for a long time and they are not in optimal form,” Dalic said. “Especially Kovacic, he hardly played this season and now we need him. It’s not easy and we need time. Gvardiol is now back but I know they are not at the optimal level. We don’t have a big roster and these are some of our most important players.”
That is the reality. Croatia, third at the 2022 World Cup and runners-up in 2018, arrive with a smaller margin for error than at any recent major tournament. The names are familiar; the bodies are not at full tilt.
Modric still the heartbeat
In Varazdin, Modric still found a way to remind everyone why he remains Croatia’s compass. Mask on, space tight, finish immaculate. His goal against Slovenia was beautifully taken, the kind of moment that makes the conversation about his age feel irrelevant for a few seconds.
But Dalic’s words stripped away any illusion. Match sharpness is missing. Minutes have been scarce. This is not the Modric who carried Croatia through extra time after extra time in 2018. This is a veteran trying to summon one more tournament at the highest level while his manager counts training sessions and recovery days like precious currency.
Dalic cannot rotate his way out of this. Croatia do not have the depth to rest key men and trust the bench to carry them. Every decision he makes around Modric, Kovacic and Gvardiol is a gamble between what they can give now and what might be left in the tank if Croatia progress.
England again, but a different story
Dalic, of course, knows what it feels like to knock England off course. He did it on the grandest stage, in the 2018 World Cup semi-final, when Croatia came from behind in Moscow and sent England home with a lesson in game management and resilience.
He refused to lean on that history this time. England have beaten Croatia twice since then, and this is not a rivalry stuck in the past. It is a fresh test against a side he clearly respects.
“A very strong team whose league is the best in the world and who play very offensive, very fast,” he said. “We will have to do something more.”
That “something more” is the crux of it. England have already set up camp in the United States, flying to Miami a week ago to tune themselves to the conditions and the time zone before heading to Dallas for the 17 June showdown. Their preparation has been long, meticulous, and tailored to peak for this opener.
Croatia, by contrast, arrive knowing they must grow into the tournament on the fly, with their most important players still searching for top speed.
A first step that can’t go wrong
Dalic did not hide from the weight of the occasion. “The first game is the most important game,” he said. “Against England we’ll fight, try to do our best and try to win.”
He has seen both sides of an opening match. Nigeria in 2018: a controlled win that launched a run to the final. Morocco in 2022: a hard-earned draw that laid the platform for another deep journey. Spain at Euro 2024: a brutal 3-0 defeat that knocked the belief out of his side before they had settled.
That is why he admitted a “softer” opener might have suited a team wrestling with injuries and rust. Instead, Croatia walk straight into one of the tournament’s powerhouses, carrying their scars and their pedigree in equal measure.
The margins will be thin. If Modric’s legs hold, if Kovacic can rediscover his timing, if Gvardiol’s return shores up the back line, Croatia have the know-how to trouble anyone. If those “ifs” go the other way, the group could tilt against them in 90 minutes.
Dalic knows all of this. He cannot change the draw. He cannot conjure fitness out of thin air. What he can do is lean on the identity that has taken Croatia so far, so often: defiance, technical quality, and a refusal to bow to reputations.
The first whistle in Dallas will tell him whether that is still enough against a fast, aggressive England side tuned for lift-off. For a team that has spent the last two World Cups living in the latter stages, the real question is stark: is this the start of another long journey, or the night everything unravels before it has truly begun?
