Haaland had to wait until the age of 25 not just to make his World Cup debut, but his international tournament bow too.
And the Leeds-born striker is clearly eager to make up for lost time.
“He’s the opposite of Mbappe and Messi,” Williams said. “He’ll beat you without the ball, which makes it even more dangerous.
“You want to help your midfield by squeezing up, so they don’t have to cover too much distance.
“But as soon as you leave the space in behind, he’s going to exploit that straight away.”
One of the keys to limiting Haaland’s influence, Williams says, is to prevent his team mates getting the ball to him.
“You’ve got to stop the balls in behind first and foremost,” Williams said. “Stop the supply going into him.
“If you can play your distances between your midfield and limit his chances, you’ve got half a chance.
“There’s not many times when he actually drops in, gets the ball, beats four players, and scores his own goal, so he does feed off what he’s getting served.”
Haaland is the most clinical of the four, with 57 goals in just 51 caps.
“He’s more lethal,” Williams added. “If he gets a chance, it’s probably going to be a goal.”
What about dealing with Haaland one on one?
“Around the box, you’ve got to get tight and try to get him on his right foot,” Williams said.
“Then you’re just going to have to be as strong as you can, don’t be clever, just get the ball away and buy time.”
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.
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.
Tom Kane, a prolific voice actor whose signature roles included Master Yoda in a number of animated “Star Wars” shows as well as Professor Utonium on “The Powerpuff Girls,” has died. He was 64.
Kane died Monday from complications of a stroke he suffered in 2020, his representative Zachery McGinnis confirmed to The Times. The voice actor’s death was announced on social media by his talent agency, Galactic Productions.
“From his unforgettable performances in Star Wars to countless animated series, documentaries, and games, Tom brought wisdom, strength, humor, and heart to every role he touched,” reads a statement posted Monday on Galactic Productions’ Facebook page. “His voice became part of our lives, our memories, and the stories we carry with us. … Though his voice may now be silent, the characters, stories, and love he gave to the world will live on forever.”
Kane first joined the “Star Wars” franchise through video games in the 1990s, voicing droids, Imperial officers and rebel pilots in installments such as “Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire” and “Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter.” He would go on to voice other characters, including the iconic protocol droid C-3PO, Jedi Master Yoda and the bounty hunter Boba Fett, in various games over the years.
He continued to voice Yoda in animated “Star Wars” shows, first in “Star Wars: Clone Wars,” Genndy Tartakovsky’s series set after the events of the 2002 film “Episode II — Attack of the Clones,” in which Kane also voiced C-3PO.
But Kane’s most notable “Star Wars” role was as the narrator of the 2008 film “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and the subsequent series of the same name, where he kicked off each adventure as the spoken version of the classic “Star Wars” opening crawl to set the stage for the story that followed.
“Tom loved ‘Star Wars,’” Dave Filoni, Lucasfilm’s president and chief creative officer, said in the studio’s tribute to Kane. “Fans may best remember him as the voice of the animated Yoda, but truly his voice was the spirit of the Clone Wars. His opening narration introduced an entire generation to the ‘Star Wars’ galaxy getting viewers ready for another adventure far, far, away.”
“When I was first starting out as a director I was fortunate to have someone as legendary as Tom there to help me learn and guide me towards what the actors needed. Very Yoda like indeed,” Filoni added.
Besides his “Star Wars” roles, Kane’s credits also include the devoted valet Woodhouse in “Archer,” the mutant Magneto in Marvel video games, the prim and proper head of house Mr. Herriman in “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends” and the flamboyant villain Him in “The Powerpuff Girls.”
Kane said in a 2014 Reddit AMA that “The Powerpuff Girls’” Professor Utonium, who combined sugar, spice and everything nice — along with chemical X — to create the super-powered kindergartners, was the character he most identified with.
“He’s a dorky dad who loves his kids,” Kane wrote in a comment. “That’s pretty much me.”
Tara Strong, who voiced Powerpuff Girl Blossom, described Kane as “Brilliant. Giving. Funny. Supportive. [And] Kind.” in her tribute.
“They say there’s no such thing as a perfect man… those people never met [Tom Kane]. I’ve never in my life met a sweeter soul or a better human being,” Strong wrote in a Monday post on X. “I’m beyond grateful for all the hours we spent together in the booth, and so grateful we got to see him again recently… hug him tight and tell him how much we love and miss him.”
“I love you, Professor. You were the best dad, the best human, and I feel so honored to have known you and called you my friend,” she added.
Born April 15, 1962, in Overland Park, Kan., Kane began his voice acting career at age 15 doing commercials in his hometown of Kansas City, according to IMDb. In addition to his work in games, film and television, Kane has lent his voice to announce awards shows, including the 78th, 80th, 83rd, 84th and 90th Academy Awards broadcasts, as well as on attractions at Disney Theme parks.
“I’m also glad that his characters and voice will live on in many ways,” Filoni said in his tribute. “Wherever you go there’s always a chance that Tom is the voice you hear guiding you through Disneyland or a galaxy far, far away.”
Kane is survived by his wife, Cindy, and their nine children, six of whom joined the family through adoption and fostering.
Since the last international break, no player has scored more Premier League goals than Watkins’ nine.
Manchester City‘s Erling Haaland is second on that list with seven, while Nottingham Forest‘s Morgan Gibbs-White is the next best English player on five.
But, while Watkins may well be arguably England’s most in-form striker heading into the World Cup, realistically the spot everyone is vying for is the number one back-up position to captain Kane.
Ivan Toney has been in prolific form all season for Al-Ahli but playing in the Saudi Pro League means his numbers are difficult to directly compare with the other contenders.
Of the rest, Watkins’ 19 goals in all competitions puts him five ahead of both Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who returned to the England fold after a five-year exile in March, and Danny Welbeck, whose last cap was in 2018.
“He’s got to be on the plane,” former Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie said on Sky Sports when asked about Watkins’ chances of being included this summer. “Since being left out we’ve just seen a massive turning of the corner.
“He’s been relentless in front of goal, he’s shown his capabilities. He’s a totally different player to Harry Kane and gives them something different.”
Three-man forward lines have been a staple tactic throughout the history of football.
But they have arguably never been as popular as they have over the last 15 or so years.
It is a resurgence that is largely down to Barcelona’s success under Pep Guardiola between 2008 and 2012.
Guardiola helped Barcelona win two Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles with a dominant possession-based style.
It was a revolutionary system that relied on both the midfield and front line – operating with a recognised number nine – to be fluid in and out of possession.
Nine‑time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi was usually the most central attacker, though he often dropped deep to either drag defenders out of position and create space for his team-mates, or to create a numerical advantage in midfield.
Either way, the end result was a fluid style of football that was practically impossible to stop and resulted in Barcelona claiming 14 trophies during Guardiola’s time at the helm.
Since then, three-man forward lines have become fairly prominent in Europe, with the likes of Real Madrid and PSG deploying similar tactics in the years that followed.
In the Premier League, however, the forward line that resembled Guardiola’s side most closely was Liverpool’s Champions League and Premier League-winning trio of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.
During their five seasons together at Anfield, Firmino was deployed as the Reds’ central attacker and, similar to Messi, was responsible for dropping between the lines, linking play with the midfielders and ultimately creating space for Mane and Salah to run in behind.
The trio is widely regarded as one of the greatest forward lines in the history of English football, having helped Jurgen Klopp’s side win a haul of major trophies.
