England vs Croatia: World Cup bet builder tips

England vs Croatia bet builder

England to win

England head into the World Cup full of confidence after winning both of their pre-tournament friendlies without conceding.

Thomas Tuchel has built his reputation on delivering results in tournament football, and the German manager now has one of the most talented England squads in recent memory at his disposal.

Croatia may provide England's toughest challenge in the group stage, but the Three Lions possess world-class quality throughout the pitch, from Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham to Declan Rice and Reece James.

Croatia's own preparations have been less convincing, with a defeat to Belgium and only a narrow victory over Slovenia.

With England looking sharp defensively and carrying significant attacking firepower, our experts are backing them to start their campaign with three points.

Harry Kane to have 2+ shots on target

Harry Kane looks primed to make an immediate impact at the World Cup.

Despite playing only 108 minutes across England's two warm-up matches, the captain managed six shots, four of which were on target.

That equates to a shot on target every 27 minutes, and with Kane expected to play significantly longer against Croatia, the opportunities should be there.

His club form has been equally impressive, averaging 2.2 shots on target per Bundesliga match while scoring 36 goals in just 31 appearances.

Given his recent numbers and England's likely dominance of possession, we're backing Kane to test the Croatian goalkeeper at least twice.

Under 2.5 goals to be scored

While England's most recent match ended in a comfortable 3-0 win over Costa Rica, games under Thomas Tuchel have generally been far more controlled affairs.

Prior to that victory, none of England's previous five matches had seen three or more goals scored.

England's World Cup qualifying fixtures also averaged fewer than three goals per game despite facing weaker opposition than Croatia.

With opening group matches often cagey and Croatia unlikely to take too many risks early on, we expect a relatively tight contest.

That makes under 2.5 goals an appealing selection.

Croatia under 1.5 goals

England's defensive record under Tuchel suggests Croatia may struggle to score more than once.

Croatia managed two goals against Slovenia in their most recent warm-up fixture, but their record against stronger opposition has been less convincing.

Across friendlies against Brazil, Belgium and Colombia in 2026, Croatia scored a total of four goals, averaging just 1.3 per game.

England, meanwhile, have kept eight clean sheets in their last ten matches and remain one of the strongest defensive units at the tournament.

You have to go back to Senegal's 3-1 victory over England last summer for the last time the Three Lions conceded more than one goal in a match.

In competitive fixtures, England haven't conceded multiple goals since their Nations League defeat to Greece in October 2024.

With that in mind, we're backing Croatia to score no more than one goal.

All odds and market details are accurate as of the time of publication.