England team vs Croatia 'leaked' hours before World Cup opener

Thomas Tuchel has reportedly made several big calls ahead of England’s Group L opener against Croatia, with Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka set to miss out.

Despite the tournament getting under way almost a week ago, England are yet to begin their World Cup campaign.

The Three Lions breezed past warm-up opponents New Zealand and Costa Rica, winning 1-0 and 3-0 respectively, before beating Miami FC 6-0 in a behind-closed-doors match.

Finally, later on Wednesday (June 17), England kick off their campaign with a tough test against old foes Croatia.

England have faced Croatia in several key matches over the years, including the 2018 World Cup semi-final and the group stage of Euro 2020, as well as the final Euro 2008 qualifier, which ended in a 3-2 defeat and saw the Three Lions fail to qualify for the tournament.

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Croatia have performed well at recent World Cups, reaching the final in 2018 and the semi-finals in 2022.

Several notable names were included in Zlatko Dalić’s squad, including Luka Modrić, Ivan Perišić and Mateo Kovačić.

Who will line up for England?

Ahead of tonight’s clash, BBC Sport claims Marc Guéhi is set to lose his place in central defence, with Ezri Konsa expected to partner John Stones.

Meanwhile, according to the Daily Mail, Anthony Gordon is set to get the nod ahead of Marcus Rashford on the left wing, while Noni Madueke is likely to start ahead of Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka on the right, although the latter has struggled with fitness issues ahead of the tournament.

Captain Harry Kane is set to lead the line, with Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice in midfield. Jude Bellingham will reportedly be preferred to Morgan Rogers in the No. 10 role.

Nico O’Reilly and Reece James are expected to start at full-back, with Jordan Pickford in goal.

Tuchel has already made several big calls when selecting his 26-man squad, with the German leaving out Premier League stars Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Harry Maguire.

When asked about his choices back in May, he explained: “I can assure every fan in the country that we have 26 one-hundred-per-cent committed players in camp with us who know their roles, who are ready to buy into their role on and off the pitch, and are ready and committed to the idea of team spirit and being unselfish.

“We have a huge chunk of youthfulness in the squad, with six players who have won titles at Under-21 level, and Kobbie [Mainoo], who has already won titles, and Nico O’Reilly, who is very young and has won his medals.

“We have specialists for all different kinds of scenarios, whether we are leading or chasing a result. We always want to be a strong set-piece team, so we have specialists for that, and we want to be a strong penalty team, so we have specialists for that.”

After the Croatia clash, England face Ghana in Foxborough on June 23 before finishing their group-stage campaign against Panama in New Jersey on June 27.