Croatia to host England at Stadion HNK Rijeka in UEFA Nations League group match
Croatia will host England at Stadion HNK Rijeka in their third group-stage match of the UEFA Nations League 2026-27 on 3 October 2026, the pre-match preview published on that date said. Both sides enter the fixture following contrasting recent results in the competition.
Croatia come into the game after a 1-4 defeat by Spain in their previous outing, a match in which they conceded an early goal, briefly levelled the scoreline, then saw La Roja regain the lead three minutes later and add two further second-half goals. The Slaven Bilić-led side were unable to recover after the early setback and will be looking to avoid a repeat of that performance while hosting England.
England lost their opening Nations League 2026-27 fixture to Luis de la Fuente’s Spain before responding with a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic, a match in which they controlled the tempo and kept a clean sheet. England will travel to Rijeka as the away side, carrying the confidence from that composed defensive showing.
The preview notes that England previously beat Luka Modric and company during the 2026 World Cup. That prior victory over Croatia’s core group remains part of the recent competitive history between the teams.
Ivan Perišić, aged 37, was singled out for his performance in Croatia’s 1-4 loss to Spain, supplying a crucial assist and delivering notable work on the left flank despite not scoring. The article describes him as one of the consistent performers for the hosts in that defeat.
Anthony Gordon, 25, opened the scoring for England against Czechia and posted the match’s leading attacking numbers, creating the most chances (4), taking the most shots (4) and registering the most touches (11) in the opposition box. Those statistics underline his central role in England’s attacking output in the 2-0 victory.
The meeting at Stadion HNK Rijeka is Croatia’s and England’s third group-stage fixture in the UEFA Nations League 2026-27, with both teams aiming to improve their standing in the group through this result.
