Gabby Logan hosted the BBC’s live coverage of England’s second World Cup group match
22:28, 23 Jun 2026Updated 22:31, 23 Jun 2026
Gabby Logan led the BBC’s coverage(Image: BBC)
BBC viewers weren’t impressed as they tuned in to watch England play.
Gabby Logan returned to screens on Tuesday (June 23) to present coverage of England’s Group L match against Ghana at Boston Stadium in the USA, as both teams played their second game of the group stage.
This is just the second time that these sides have ever met and the first time they’ve faced each other in a competitive fixture. The last time was back in March 2011, when former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan scored an injury-time equaliser to salvage a 1-1 draw at Wembley Stadium.
Gabby was joined in the Salford studio by Joe Hart, Wayne Rooney and Micah Richards, with match commentary coming from Guy Mowbray and Alan Shearer.
However, BBC viewers were quick to issue the same complaints about the broadcaster’s coverage. Many fans weren’t impressed with the “buffering” coverage on iPlayer, as well as a live interview with British rapper Stormzy.
“England v Ghana on BBC iPlayer is buffering like crazy. It’s not just iPlayer, games buffer on ITVX too. Happens on the big fixtures, obvs,” one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter), with another adding: “@BBCiPlayer not fit for purpose. Give me @itvx every time.”
A third wrote: “@BBC what’s going on,” alongside a screenshot of the app not loading.
Referring to Stormzy’s interview ahead of the match, a fourth viewer said: “Dear BBC Sport. Football. Fans. Don’t. Care. About. Celebrities. At. The. World. Cup. Stop it,” with another adding: “@BBCSport wasting licence payers cash yet again with a pointless interview with #Stormzy! Pathetic & nothing to do with football!”
More complaints were issued, with someone else writing: “BBC World Cup coverage is poor. S***,” while another shared: “Their coverage of this #worldcup has been beyond woeful.”
Another commented: “Congrats to ITV and the BBC for making the World Cup unwatchable.”
Meanwhile, other viewers praised the BBC’s World Cup coverage, particularly lead hosts Gabby and Kelly Cates.
“BBC coverage soo much better. Great female presenters with Gabby and Kelly. Miles better than ITV,” one person wrote, with another agreeing: “Yeah the female presenters are excellent.”
The Three Lions will be hoping to make it through to the knockout stages for the third consecutive World Cup. They have only been knocked out at the group stage once in their last seven appearances in the finals.
Tonight’s viewer complaints come after several disruptions to the BBC’s coverage of the football tournament.
Gabby Logan notably made a politics announcement during Monday’s (June 22) live broadcast, just hours before coverage was pulled off air due to France and Iraq’s match being delayed.
FIFA issued a statement after warnings of a “severe thunderstorm approaching” the Philadelphia stadium.
Coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 is available to stream on BBC iPlayer and ITVX
England fans were left frustrated as their side were held to a goalless draw against Ghana, but were Thomas Tuchel’s side fortunate not to have a penalty given against them?
The incident in question happened late in Tuesday’s game as Prince Adu charged into the box before Ezri Konsa came across and appeared to bring down the midfielder.
No spot-kick was given – to the relief of England supporters, with replays showing Konsa had caught Adu on the knee and made no contact with the ball.
The BBC pundits watching the game were largely in agreement that Konsa and England were fortunate not to have been punished.
“I think that’s a penalty,” former Three Lions and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney said on BBC One.
“Konsa takes a huge risk. His feet are off the floor when he comes flying in and he gets the man, not the ball.
“That could easily have been given in my view.”
Fellow former England international and ex-Manchester City defender Micah Richards added: “England were chasing the game, they were trying to score the goal but you still need that protection behind you.
England fail to repeat their performance that overpowered Croatia in their first World Cup game as they are held to a draw by a resolute Ghana at Boston Stadium.
Three different England players were on target in the Three Lions’ 4-2 win over Croatia in their World Cup opener on Wednesday.
In total 15 players have scored for England across the past four men’s World Cups. Can you name them all?
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Anderson, who played 55 times in all competitions for Newcastle United, made his debut in an FA Cup defeat against Arsenal in January 2021 before joining Bristol Rovers on loan a year later.
It was here that he completed a vital part of his education – while also figuring in what might still be the most remarkable match of his career.
Former Republic of Ireland international Glenn Whelan was player coach at Bristol Rovers, and vividly remembering the impact the confident “but never arrogant” Anderson made in the west country.
He told BBC Sport: “He just came into the building and showed his potential straight away. Nothing seemed to faze him. You could see straight away this boy was different.
“As the coach, there were certain scenarios in training when I tried to put him under a little pressure. Some kids would be a little bit more reserved and fall back. Elliot was right on the front foot. He took the bull by the horns.”
And the date 5 February 2022 was one of significance in Anderson’s development, as recalled by Whelan: “We were away to Sutton United. They were doing well and were a proper men’s team with a lot of grit. Some of the coaching team were a little wary of throwing him in against them.
“We were losing at half-time and I basically said ‘we need to get this lad on because he’s a game-changer.’ He came on and made an impact. He won a penalty and we drew. I think he played pretty much every minute after that.”
Anderson’s attitude and determination stood out as he excelled at Bristol Rovers – ending in a dramatic climax to the season.
“He just had a confidence about him to show everyone how good he was,” says Whelan. “It was not arrogance. He’d obviously had a great upbringing from his family and he had that Geordie in him.
“He played off the left wing, but if the ball wasn’t coming to him he would go and look for it. He didn’t care who was marking him. He could take the ball under pressure and make things happen.
“Elliot loved training. He wanted to learn, do the extras. He had the attitude to stay behind and get better. We could tell straight away he was going to be a top player.”
And Anderson left Bristol Rovers after one of the greatest days in their history, when they clinched promotion to League One on the final day of the season.
The Pirates started the day needing to better the result of third-placed Northampton or win by five goals more than their rivals – they won 7-0, Anderson getting the final goal with five minutes remaining to help Rovers move into the top three for the first time all season.
Anderson made his triumphant farewell chaired off by jubilant Bristol Rovers supporters.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel has admitted he is not a fan of the controversial hydration breaks being used at the World Cup.
Tuchel, 52, was speaking before England’s second Group L game against Ghana in Boston on Wednesday (21:00 BST), where rain and cool temperatures are forecast.
England’s fans started the now customary jeering of the breaks when play was stopped in the first half of their opening game against Croatia in Dallas, despite the match being played under a roof in an air-conditioned arena.
The breaks will continue to be used in Boston irrespective of the weather, but Tuchel expressed his reservations about them and the impact they are having on games.
“I think that it interrupts and changes the identity of a football match much more than I thought. I had hydration breaks before when it was really, really hot and needed, but they were shorter,” Tuchel said.
“They were shorter and they were just in a few matches. In the interests of fairness here, it is now done in every match for every team.
“It breaks the match almost in four quarters. And I think it changes the characteristic of the match more than I thought.”
Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey says he is ready to face England after being denied entry to Canada for the Black Stars’ World Cup opener.
The former Arsenal player, 33, missed Ghana’s win against Panama last week because of ongoing criminal proceedings in the UK.
Partey pleaded not guilty to seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to allegations by four different women between 2020 and 2022 and is scheduled to stand trial next year.
He was denied entry to Canada after telling officials he had never been arrested or charged with a crime, but is expected to feature against England in Boston on Tuesday.
“It’s part of football,” the Villarreal player said.
“Things happen outside football that you cannot control. For me now, I feel OK and ready to play.”
In a statement, US customs and border protection (CBP) said last week: “The US is aware of the pending court case for Mr Partey.
“However, at this time, he has not been convicted of a crime and was admitted to the United States after being issued a visa.”
Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz said his players were “fully motivated” to face England.
“This is the easiest type of match, because when you’re about to play against England, France or Germany, you don’t need to say anything to the players,” he added.
“Everybody is fully switched on and everybody wants to perform well.”
England head coach Brendon McCullum says he is ready to work with Ben Stokes when the captain returns for the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.
The results of the investigation are still to be confirmed, but McCullum has confirmed Stokes will return as captain, a position he has held since 2022, in Nottingham.
“Ben will be back,” said McCullum. “He’ll be back and he’ll be captain.”
Following a 4-1 Ashes series defeat that was dogged by off-field problems, both Stokes and McCullum denied their relationship had deteriorated in Australia.
Then, following England’s win in the first Test since the Ashes – against New Zealand at Lord’s – Stokes broke the team’s midnight curfew in celebrating the victory.
On his relationship with Stokes, McCullum told BBC Test Match Special: “You’re just trying to make sure you’re very communicative right throughout.
“We all got the same ambition, which is to make English cricket a very good team and to try to achieve results on the field, and that hasn’t changed.”
McCullum said he has spoken to Stokes “every day” since the nightclub incident, which occurred in the early hours of Monday, 8 June.
The New Zealander also confirmed England director of cricket Rob Key has visited Stokes this week.
England’s batting sparkled again as the hosts closed on a place in the T20 World Cup semi-finals with an 38-run victory over Scotland at Headingley.
Sophia Dunkley ensured injured captain Nat Sciver-Brunt was not missed by capitalising on three dropped catches in making 57 on her return to the side.
Alice Capsey stroked 40 and Heather Knight 25 but most impressive was a barnstorming unbroken partnership of 61 from just 21 balls from Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson.
Together they took England from 141-5 after 17 overs to 200-5 after 20 – with Kemp hitting an unbeaten 39 from 16 balls and Gibson an 11-ball 30 not out.
After an edgy chase over Ireland in their second match, this was more reminiscent of England’s performance on the opening night of the tournament when they piled up 219-1 against Sri Lanka.
The Kemp-Gibson pyrotechnics pushed the target beyond Scotland and, despite an admirable effort, they finished on 162-7 – their highest score batting second in T20 internationals.
A win in either of England’s last two matches, against West Indies on Wednesday or New Zealand next Saturday, will likely be enough to secure a top-two finish.
Scotland, who have a win and two defeats, play New Zealand on Tuesday.
Investigators and police officers work at the scene where two East Midlands Railway trains collided near Bedford, Britain, Friday. A train driver has died and at least 80 people have been injured in the crash. According to the ambulance service 33 of the injured are in a serious condition. Nine are still critical as of Saturday morning. Photo by Tolga Akmen/EPA
June 20 (UPI) — A train driver is dead and nine people are still in critical condition after two passenger trains collided in England.
About 80 people were injured in the crash Friday evening. As of Saturday morning, 28 were still hospitalized after a moving train crashed into a stopped train on the tracks in Bedford, England, north of London.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers said it was “devastated to learn that a train driver and former RMT rep has tragically died,” The Times of London reported.
Eddie Dempsey, RMT general secretary, wrote on X: “The thoughts of RMT are with their family, friends, colleagues and the ASLEF trade union at this awful time.”
The trains collided in Bedford, one from Corby and the other from Nottingham en route to London St. Pancras.
One passenger told The Times that the scene was “carnage.”
“We had to walk through farmers’ fields to get to an A-road,” he said. “There is a huge emergency service presence and loads of air ambulances.”
Another unidentified passenger told the times that it looked like an explosion.
“The front carriage collided into the front of another one, and when I got up I saw all of the chairs everywhere and it felt like I’d been in a bomb explosion. When I got up I saw people with bloodied faces and people’s legs looked broken, and there was smoke everywhere,” the passenger said.
Passenger Pete Knapp added that he saw smoke in the cabin.
“There was a moment of being flung into the chair in front, and then I saw smoke. People were crying, screaming, people were so scared and confused,” Knapp said.
A helicopter arrived within about 5 or 10 minutes, he added. Emergency services had to cut through a hedge with shears to reach the area, and he said passengers were triaged into different groups based on their injuries.
“I was triaged by some paramedics and they said that I had a muscular damage to my back and the gouges on my shins, they hadn’t broken my legs so hopefully they will heal over time. I’m extremely grateful for that because so many people in that carriage I was in had their legs broken, and there was blood everywhere and people crying and screaming.”
A train collision on Friday north of London resulted in at least 89 people being injured and Friday commutes into the city halted as emergency services responded to the incident. File Photo by Justin Lane/EPA-EFE
June 19 (UPI) — Two passenger trains collided north of London on Friday evening, snaring commutes as several train lines were closed as emergency services responded to the scene.
The two trains collided in Bedford, one from Corby and the other from Nottingham on the way to London St. Pancras, resulting in rail services to and from London St. Pancras being suspended, ABC News, The BBC and The Guardian reported.
The British Transport Police reported that 89 people were injured in the collision, 11 of whom were being treated for “very serious injuries.”
Officials are asking people to avoid the area, whether they are commuting or looking for a loved one, and local hospitals asked people not to come to the emergency room unless they have a serious emergency.
“I’m grateful to emergency services who are on the scene, attending to those affected,” British Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander said in a statement on X.
“We’re working quickly with the rail industry and local partners to support passengers,” she said.
The collision occurred just after 3:00 p.m. local time on Friday as both trains were headed toward London.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the incident “hugely concerning” as other officials noted that a cause for the collision is not known yet but a full investigation will be conducted.
President Donald Trump presents a Medal of Honor to Tom Ripley on behalf of his father, John W. Ripley, during a Medal of Honor award ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Thursday. Photo by Aaron Schwartz/UPI | License Photo
Ivan Toney and Morgan Rogers were among the scorers as England recorded a comprehensive 5-1 victory over Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City in a practice match on Thursday.
The game, played behind closed doors at England’s Swope Soccer Village training facility, featured the players not used in Wednesday’s World Cup 4-2 win over Croatia and the squad members who did not play significant minutes in Dallas.
Toney scored a hat-trick while Aston Villa duo Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins were also on target as England ran out comfortable winners.
Jordan Henderson, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, Dan Burn, Kobbie Mainoo, Djed Spence and Jarell Quansah were among the players also involved in the training game.
The game was broken up into two halves of around 25 minutes each.
BBC Sport revealed on Tuesday that the Football Association had arranged the friendly to get minutes into certain players’ legs.
Having arrived back from Dallas at around 10.30pm local time on Wednesday, England players were afforded most of Thursday off.
Players were allowed to see family and friends immediately after the Group L game against Croatia, and loved ones were given access into the camp on Thursday to spend time with the team before they start preparations for next Tuesday’s game against Ghana in Boston (21:00 BST).
Captain Harry Kane and manager Thomas Tuchel were among a group of players and staff that attended a baseball game between Kansas City Royals and St Louis Cardinals later on Thursday.
Stokes has been named in Durham’s 15-man squad for their County Championship fixture against Northamptonshire, which starts on Friday, but his England future is uncertain.
Botham himself had a reputation as a player who played hard on and off the field.
The 70-year-old said players of his era “used to love going out for a drink” but said they “weren’t quite so obvious” compared to the current generation.
England were dogged with allegations of a drinking culture during the 2025-26 Ashes tour, which they lost 4-1.
Before the Ashes, white-ball captain Harry Brook was punched by a nightclub bouncer in Wellington on the eve of a one-day international against New Zealand.
As a result, England imposed a midnight curfew on all players and staff.
“In Australia, they go down 2-0. What did the team do? Go to Noosa for five days and everyone knows what happened,” said Botham.
“The other night, I was amazed. And what I can’t get my head around is what the security bloke is doing there if he and they know they shouldn’t be there after midnight? He shouldn’t have to overrule him [Stokes], because it shouldn’t happen.”
Former England skipper Botham, who scored 5,200 runs and took 383 wickets in 102 Tests, said he would not be shocked if Stokes quits cricket completely if he is removed from his position.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if Ben was to lose the captaincy, he probably might walk away from the game. But I just don’t know,” added Botham.
“I don’t know where it will go now. I just think something will happen, whichever way it is.
“To be honest with you, it was an unnecessary procedure and one that I think he’ll regret.”
The Bank of England left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.75% on Thursday, extending a pause that began in December 2025, as policymakers weighed the inflationary fallout from the Iran war against signs of resilience elsewhere in the economy.
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Governor Andrew Bailey and fellow Monetary Policy Committee members were widely expected to keep rates on hold and maintain a broadly neutral stance on future policy moves.
The decision came a day after official figures showed UK inflation holding steady. Consumer prices rose 2.8% year-on-year in May, unchanged from April and below economists’ expectations of 3.0%, leaving the headline rate at its lowest level since early 2025.
However, the stable reading masked diverging trends beneath the surface. Transport costs accelerated sharply to 6.8%, driven by higher fuel prices and rising air fares, while food inflation eased to 2.2% and housing costs continued to moderate.
Though inflation remains above the bank’s target of 2%, the figure raised hopes that the upward pressure on prices emanating from the spike in oil and gas prices after the start of the Iran war on 28 February may have been less than anticipated.
Andrew Bailey, the bank’s governor, said the recent fall in oil prices has been “encouraging” while noting they are still higher than before the war.
“Whatever happens in the future, the higher energy prices of the past four months mean there’s already some inflationary pressure in the pipeline,” he said. “The Bank’s job is to make sure that doesn’t turn into sustained inflation above our 2% target.”
Analysts also cautioned that inflation could still accelerate later this year, as higher household energy bills feed through to prices. Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter, said: “Whilst inflation was below expectations in May and currently under 3%, it is still likely to jump closer to 4% later in the year due to the coming impact of a higher energy price cap.”
James added that while oil prices have retreated from recent highs, they remain above last year’s levels, suggesting underlying inflation pressures have not fully disappeared.
The decision to hold the key interest rate was not unanimous, with two of the nine Monetary Policy Committee members voting for a quarter-point rate increase, reflecting concerns that higher energy costs could still feed through into broader inflation pressures.
A labour market losing momentum
Thursday’s labour market release painted a mixed picture.
The unemployment rate dipped unexpectedly to 4.9% in the three months to April, down from 5.0% in the first quarter, yet payrolled employee numbers fell over the period, pointing to an underlying loss of momentum even as the headline jobless rate improved.
Wage growth, a metric the Bank of England watches closely for signs of persistent price pressure, held firm, with regular pay excluding bonuses rising 3.4% on the year.
“The labour market is still continuing to lose momentum, with the latest figures showing a further cooling,” stated Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot.
Sanjay Raja, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank, struck a similar note, cautioning that “it’s clear that the labour market is not out of the woods yet,” though he added that the mixed data buys the committee more time to wait and see how the economy evolves.
The combination of cooling headline inflation, a softening jobs market and still-robust pay growth underscores the bind facing the committee. Strong earnings keep alive the risk of so-called second-round effects, where higher wages feed back into prices, even as hiring loses steam.
England did not want to go through the play-offs but were given an unkind draw in the qualifying groups when they met world champions Spain.
It does mean, however, that Sarina Wiegman’s side are in a strong position for the play-offs and will fancy their chances with a kind trip to Greece in October.
They beat potential round two opponents Ukraine in both matches in the qualifying group stage, which will give them confidence too.
There is a tricky tie for Northern Ireland, who come up against a talented young squad from Portugal in round one. Portugal twice beat Northern Ireland in Euro 2025 qualifying.
Their task gets trickier if they make it through to round two with potential opponents Iceland proving to be difficult to break down in their matches against England this year.
Scotland are hoping to reach just their second Women’s World Cup finals having failed to qualify in 2023.
They performed well in this year’s qualifying group stages, including draws with Belgium that showed they can compete with Europe’s strongest teams.
They will need to produce their best in round two if they meet big-hitters Sweden, who have been semi-finalists in the past two Women’s World Cup finals.
Wales have never beaten a top-20 ranked nation in a competitive fixture and are likely to need to do so to qualify – and their away form needs improvement.
But Rhian Wilkinson’s side face familiar opponents in round one. They thrashed Albania 4-0 in their qualifying group so who says they can’t do it again?
Meanwhile, having performed superbly in qualifying, the Republic of Ireland have a tricky play-off route with established European opposition Belgium potentially waiting in round two.
First, Carly Ward’s side will have to navigate a 3,100-mile trip to Kazakhstan, against relatively unknown opposition.
Jude Bellingham has said the external “noise” around his place in the England team may help him find his best form during the World Cup.
One of the main talking points around selection before England’s first group game against Croatia was whether boss Thomas Tuchel would select Real Madrid’s Bellingham or Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers in the number 10 role behind captain Harry Kane.
Bellingham was chosen to start in Dallas and scored England’s crucial third goal just after half-time, with Marcus Rashford adding a fourth late on to complete a 4-2 win.
“For me personally, it was nice to put some of the noise aside and just show my country and my team-mates how committed I am to help us try to win football matches,” the 22-year-old, who is appearing in a fourth consecutive major tournament for England, told BBC Sport.
“To contribute, to help my team and help my country is one of the biggest honours and regardless of the noise outside, that honour doesn’t change for me at all.”
Bellingham conceded that it has been a “bit of a tougher season for me”, with the start of his 2025-26 campaign disrupted by injury, his club side in Spain ending up eight points behind eventual champions Barcelona and his place in the national team under scrutiny.
But Bellingham said he feels “fresh and sharp” heading into the tournament and it was “nice to hear” comments from colleagues such as Jordan Henderson, who said the former Birmingham City and Borussia Dortmund player gives England an “X-factor”.
Asked if he has entered the World Cup with added impetus, Bellingham said: “A little bit – I think I’ve got a little bit of a chip on my shoulder, haven’t I?”
Harry Kane puts England 1-0 up against Croatia with a retaken penalty, after his initial attempt was saved by Dominik Livakovic, who was deemed to be off his line.
However, it is understood England manager Thomas Tuchel is likely to select Bellingham, 22, for Wednesday’s Group L encounter in Dallas (21:00 BST).
The Real Madrid star is expected to have Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson of Nottingham Forest alongside him in midfield.
Elsewhere, Ezri Konsa is likely to get the nod at centre-half alongside John Stones – with Marc Guehi in line to start on the bench.
Reece James and Nico O’Reilly are set to start at full-back.
Harry Kane will captain the side and lead the attack. Anthony Gordon is expected to play on the left wing with Noni Madueke in line to play on the right in place of Bukayo Saka, who is working his way back to full fitness from Achilles tendinitis.
Four years on from his last Test appearance, Matt Fisher returns to the England side in style with a wicket in just his third over as he removes Devon Conway for nine on the opening morning of the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval.
The 2026 World Cup will have 13 different kickoff times. You can use the Al Jazeera Sport widget to find out exactly when your team is playing in your local time.
Who: England vs Croatia What: FIFA World Cup 2026 Group L match Where: AT&T Stadium, Dallas, Texas When: Wednesday, 3pm local time (20:00 GMT) How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
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Chants of “It’s Coming Home” will ring around parts of England on Wednesday as the European heavyweights begin their 2026 World Cup title bid with a test against familiar foes, Croatia.
It has been 60 years since England were last crowned world champions, but they are genuine contenders for the title this year.
While coach Thomas Tuchel’s squad selection divided fan opinion in the run-up to their journey to North America, bookmakers still believe this crop of English talent, headlined by Harry Kane, can achieve a deep run in the tournament.
Their first hurdle, though, is a challenging one.
Once labelled underdogs, Croatia have grown into one of international football’s most consistent tournament performers, finishing as World Cup runners-up in 2018 and earning third place at the last edition, in 2022, as well as 1998.
Their 40-year-old captain Luka Modric may well be heading into his last tournament, but he remains the heartbeat of the team, and as has been the case for years, Croatia pose a threat under his leadership.
Al Jazeera tells you everything you need to know about England vs Croatia:
Kane: 2026 World Cup ‘one of the best opportunities’ for England triumph
After a string of near-misses at recent European Championships and World Cups, England head into the 2026 tournament chasing their first world title since 1966.
They are led by captain Kane, who has arrived in North America in some of the best form of his career, and fresh off the high of lifting his second Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich.
“For sure, it’s one of the best opportunities we will have as a team to win it,” Kane told reporters, talking about England’s odds of winning the tournament.
“I think everyone is eager to just start well and prove that we have the capabilities of going far in this tournament.”
England fans can expect Harry Kane to fire goals, as the striker heads to the tournament in some of the best form of his career [File: Peter Cziborra/Reuters]
The 32-year-old has urged his team, who had a 100 percent record in the qualifiers, to “go for it” and be “free in the mind” when they launch their World Cup title charge in Texas.
Tuchel, too, knows the expectations from fans are high, with England among the top contenders in the 48-team tournament.
Their best run in recent times has been reaching the semifinals in 2018, while their last campaign ended in the quarterfinals in 2022 – both under former manager Gareth Southgate.
“We have a right to dream, but we don’t want to be delusional,” Tuchel has said.
Croatia coach Dalic warns about goal-machine Kane, calls Modric his ‘right hand’
Croatia’s head coach Zlatko Dalic has warned his team to be wary of goal-scoring machine Kane, who netted a whopping 61 times in 51 matches in all competitions for Bayern Munich last season.
“They have the best striker in the world, they have Kane, and Kane can do a hell of a lot,” said Dalic. “We will do a lot, we will do our best not only to defend ourselves but to attack, to go forward.
“There will be set pieces, which will be quite difficult, but we are prepared for that. I expect a great game, and it will be great preparation for the next two games in the group.”
Just as Kane is central to England’s hopes of a deep run, veteran Modric is crucial to Croatia’s World Cup dreams. After playing a key role in Croatia’s previous World Cup campaigns, Modric is set for his fifth and possibly final appearance.
Luka Modric will be making his 199th appearance for Croatia on Wednesday [File: Antonio Bronic/Reuters]
The ageing midfielder, also the Balkan nation’s captain, still enjoys a hero’s status among a side that has often defied expectations on the global stage. And by Dalic’s own admission, the team still relies heavily on him, not least for his playmaking prowess.
“He means a lot, both as a captain of our team and as a person,” Dalic said of Modric, ahead of his 199th appearance for the team.
“He is my right hand on the pitch.
“It means a lot to the team that we have a couple of older players alongside Luka who are leading the younger players, and they can do very good things,” Dalic added.
“They are very lucky to have him, Luka, as a role model in how to fight for the national team jersey, and we’re lucky to still have him with us.”
England vs Croatia prediction
Stats provider Opta’s supercomputer has handed England a 55.9 percent probability of winning against Croatia, who have a 20.8 percent chance of winning. There is a 23.3 percent probability of a draw.
Overall, England are fourth in the list of title favourites – with a 10.02 percent probability – behind Spain, France and Argentina.
England vs Croatia: Kickoff time, TV listing
In the United Kingdom, England vs Croatia kicks off at 9pm BST and will be shown on STV, STV Player, ITV1 and ITVX.
For fans in Croatia, the match is scheduled for 10pm and will be shown on HRT.
In the United States, viewers can tune into FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, FOX and Peacock.
To check the TV listings for your country, head to FIFA’s TV listing schedule here.
(Al Jazeera)
How does the World Cup group stage work?
England, Croatia, Ghana and Panama are in Group L.
The top two teams from each of the 12 groups – along with the eight best third-placed teams – proceed to the next phase, the round of 32, which has been introduced at the World Cup for the first time.
Form guide:
(Last five games, latest first)
England: W-W-L-D-W
Croatia: W-L-L-W-W
England have a slightly better record than Croatia in their last five matches. Both teams have won three games each, but England lost and drew the other two, while Croatia suffered defeats in both games.
England won against Costa Rica and New Zealand in pre-World Cup friendlies earlier this month, but lost to Japan in an unexpected result in late March. Before that, they drew with Uruguay in a friendly and beat Albania in a World Cup qualifier.
Croatia won against Slovakia but fell to Belgium in their World Cup warm-up matches, while also losing to Brazil in a friendly in late March. But before that, they beat Colombia in a friendly and won against Montenegro in a World Cup qualifier.
England vs Croatia: Head-to-head
Wednesday will be the 12th meeting between the two sides, with England holding a big advantage over Croatia in their head-to-head record.
England have won six times against Croatia, who have won three times. Two matches ended in a draw.
They have met at the World Cup three times before, with England losing their last tournament encounter 2-1 at the 2018 World Cup semifinal in Moscow.
Mario Mandzukic scored a goal in extra time to complete Croatia’s come-from-behind victory in the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup against England [File: Franck Fife/AFP]
England vs Croatia: Team news
On Tuesday, England defender Tino Livramento was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a calf injury and was replaced by Trevoh Chalobah. The Newcastle United right-back sustained the injury during a training session at the team’s Kansas City base on Sunday.
England’s late wobble, in which Kemp was run out for two, comes with the caveat of the confusion caused by Sciver-Brunt’s retirement.
Earlier, faced with a low total, Wyatt-Hodge and Jones continued to attack but chipped catches to the ring for 16 and nine respectively. Capsey was bowled by a fine yorker by Orla Prendergast for five.
Afterwards, Sciver-Brunt and Knight’s composed partnership steered England to the brink of victory, until Knight was pinned lbw by Prendergast for 26.
The only England player who had a real off day was seamer Lauren Bell. She conceded a boundary with the first delivery of Ireland’s innings and was hit for four fours by Louise Little in a final over that cost 17 and boosted Ireland’s score.
In between, Ireland were unable to counter as England mixed spin with seam through the middle. Sophie Ecclestone took three wickets and Dani Gibson and Dean two apiece, as England dominated much of Ireland’s innings of 118-9.
Dean bowled accurately and found turn to induce false shots with 36% of her deliveries.
Ecclestone mixed her pace to have Rebecca Stokell stumped with a quicker ball and Arlene Kelly and Cara Murray gave looping catches and Gibson, who took 2-10 in two overs, had Ireland’s Prendergast bowled via an inside edge for 25.
Ireland, who limped on from 57-5, have now lost 19 T20 World Cup matches from 19, but this performance was more encouraging than Saturday’s defeat by Scotland.
They were good with the ball, but did not have enough runs to defend.
