It starts tonight. Or continues tonight. Depending on how you look at it.
England kick off their 2026 World Cup campaign against Croatia at 9pm BST, live on ITV. The match is being played at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas – better known as AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys – where Thomas Tuchel will take charge of England at a major tournament for the first time. The local kick-off time is 3pm. Six hours behind British Summer Time. A mid-afternoon game in the Texas heat that translates into proper prime-time viewing at home.
Plan your evening accordingly. This one should finish around 11pm, no earlier, and possibly a little later if there are cooling or hydration breaks, which are common in these conditions. It is a group-stage game, so no extra time, no penalties – whatever happens, it ends after 90 minutes plus whatever the referee adds.
Why Croatia matter
England fans do not need this explaining, but here it is anyway: Croatia beat England 2-1 after extra time in the 2018 World Cup semi-final in Moscow. Gareth Southgate’s side were ahead and in control, then weren’t. It remains one of the great missed opportunities of the modern English football era – the final was eminently winnable, the team was ready, and it slipped away.
Croatia are not what they were. But they are not nothing. Luka Modric, 40 years old and still going, is expected to earn his 199th international cap tonight. Coach Zlatko Dalic has been talking up the threat posed by Harry Kane before the match, calling him one of the world’s best strikers and warning that Croatia will need to defend well without abandoning their attacking instincts. That kind of respectful pre-match threat assessment is usually accurate. Croatia have reached a World Cup final and a World Cup semi-final in the last two editions of the tournament. They know how to play these games.
It is a proper opener.
Tuchel’s first night
Thomas Tuchel has described the World Cup as the pinnacle of his coaching career and called it an honour to lead England. Whether he sings the national anthem is, apparently, still an open question – he has said he is “not yet” ready to do so, and would prefer the focus elsewhere before the first match. Most fans will probably agree that what happens in the next 90 minutes matters considerably more than what happens during the preceding three minutes.
There was a late squad change after Tino Livramento was ruled out and Trevoh Chalobah was called up. Beyond that, Tuchel has been careful with the specifics of his selection ahead of the opener.
The rest of Group L
After Croatia, England’s second group game is against Ghana on Tuesday 23 June, 9pm BST, at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Their final group game is Panama on Saturday 27 June, 10pm BST, at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford.
The expanded 48-team format means some third-placed sides go through, which gives England a small margin for error if they need it. But nobody arrives at a World Cup hoping to use their margin for error in the opening game.
Tonight is about starting well. Sixty years of hurt has its own momentum now. England can extend it or they can start something different.
Quick guide:
- 🏟️ Venue: Dallas Stadium, Arlington, Texas
- ⏰ Kick-off: 9pm BST (3pm local)
- 📺 TV: ITV
- ⏱️ Expected finish: ~11pm BST
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