Croatia's Heavyweight Opener Against England in Dallas
Zlatko Dalic knows exactly what awaits Croatia in Dallas: a heavyweight opener that could shape their entire World Cup summer.
He would never admit to fearing England, but he did admit this much – he would not have minded a gentler start.
“Maybe, because the first game can destroy everything,” he said, the words hanging in the air like a warning rather than an excuse.
A brutal first hurdle
Croatia’s final warm-up, a 2-1 win over Slovenia in Varazdin, offered a familiar script. Luka Modric, face masked to protect his fractured cheekbone, still found a way to glide into space and score with trademark precision. The captain remains their compass, even as time and injuries tug at the squad around him.
Yet the performance did little to ease Dalic’s biggest concern: his core is short of rhythm, and his margin for error is thin.
Mateo Kovacic and Josip Gvardiol, both returning from injury, are racing the clock. Modric himself, despite that elegant goal, is not fully sharp. These are not fringe figures. They are the spine of a team that finished runners-up in 2018 and third in 2022.
“Kovacic, Gvardiol and Modric didn’t play much for a long time and they are not in optimal form,” Dalic admitted. “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 last line is the crux. Croatia do not travel with the depth of an England or a France. When their leaders are short, the entire structure trembles.
Haunted by opening-day scars
Dalic has lived both sides of the opening-game story. He remembers the launchpads: the controlled 2-0 win over Nigeria in 2018, the hard-earned draw with Morocco in 2022 that set the tone for another deep run.
But the freshest memory is a bruise. Euro 2024, a 3-0 defeat to Spain in the first match, and a campaign that never recovered.
“At Euro 2024 we lost 3-0 to Spain in the first game and we fell down, couldn’t come back,” he said. That experience colours everything now. England on 17 June is not just a group fixture; it is a psychological test.
“The first game is the most important game. Against England we’ll fight, try to do our best and try to win.”
There is no disguising the stakes. Lose heavily and the ghosts of Spain reappear. Take something – a point, a statement performance – and Croatia’s old belief might just flood back.
Old wounds, new England
Memories of Moscow 2018 still linger in England, where Croatia’s extra-time semi-final win cut deep. Dalic, who masterminded that comeback, refused to lean on history or hint at lingering scars.
He knows the landscape has shifted. Since that night, England have beaten Croatia twice. The dynamic is no longer one-sided, and this England is not built on nostalgia.
Dalic spoke with clear respect about the side waiting for him in Dallas. A squad drawn from what he called “the best league in the world,” armed with pace, width and relentless attacking intent.
“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.”
England have already shown how seriously they take this opener. They flew to Miami a week ago, settling into US conditions well before kick-off. Croatia, by contrast, arrive with patched-up stars and a coach juggling fitness charts as much as tactics boards.
Walking the tightrope
This is the tension of Dalic’s fourth major tournament: a golden generation edging towards its final act, still capable of brilliance, yet increasingly reliant on players who no longer arrive battle-hardened from club seasons.
Modric, masked but majestic. Kovacic, needed more than ever after a season on the fringes. Gvardiol, back but not yet at full tilt. All central to the plan. None at “optimal level,” as their coach keeps repeating.
Croatia have lived on the edge before and thrived there. They have outlasted giants, outplayed favourites, and bent tournaments to their will through sheer resilience and technical control.
This time, the edge comes early. England, in the Texan heat, in a first game Dalic knows can “destroy everything.”
If Croatia are to write another improbable chapter, it has to start there. In Dallas, against the team they once broke, with a generation that refuses to fade quietly.
