Elliot Anderson is going to be a key player if England are to go deep at this World Cup. He’s impressed in every game he’s played for England under Thomas Tuchel and is now one of the first names on the team sheet.

He's really good at winning fouls. He was hauled down on five occasions when England faced Costa Rica in their final warm-up game and won 80 fouls across his 37 appearances during the 25/26 campaign for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League (2.16 per 90).

This record stays pretty consistent when we look at his qualifying data. He started four games and won eight fouls (1.95 per 90), also having 126.7 touches per 90 - which is a great indicator when backing players to win fouls, as he is clearly the tempo-setter in the England squad.

Jordan Pickford didn’t concede a single goal during England’s qualifying campaign, but he can expect to be more regularly tested at this World Cup.

England’s centre back situation is probably one of the main reasons as to why people don’t have them in the same bracket as France and Spain to win the World Cup. Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa are a decent partnership, but how will they fare in the latter stages of the tournament against some frighteningly good frontlines? 

This puts Pickford in the limelight, and I think this is actually where he’s at his best. He averaged 2.63 saves per 90 for Everton during the 25/26 campaign. Only three sides kept more shutouts than the Toffees in the Premier League, so Pickford can atone for the lack of quality and depth that England have at centre back.

At the last Euros, Pickford was forced into making 18 stops across seven matches (2.35 per 90), with a save percentage of 75%.

Tuchel has already outlined his plan for England at this World Cup, and a large part of that strategy will be to make the most of corners and set pieces.

This has been a running trend throughout the Premier League season, and Tuchel is insistent that he wants his side to mirror the style and approach of the domestic division, so we can expect quite a direct and physical style of play from England throughout the summer.

England averaged 7.5 corners per game during qualifying, confirming this avenue as quite an important route to goal for Tuchel’s side. The way England play should also lend itself to high corner counts, with the likes of Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke set to be direct runners in the wide areas when Harry Kane drops into deeper pockets.

I do think England may have to score more than once to win this game. Croatia may be an ageing side, but they do have real threats who can cause the Three Lions problems, having won seven of their eight qualifying matches themselves.

Croatia also have a very consistent record at international tournaments over the last few years. They beat England 2-1 in the 2018 World Cup, with the sides also facing each other in the Nations League over the last few years, with England getting their revenge in those matches.

England have seen 2+ goals in nine of their last 11 matches across all competitions, with the exceptions being friendly matches against Japan and New Zealand.

Harry Kane is England’s best player and Thomas Tuchel has recognised that by building his squad around the Bayern Munich man.

We can trust that Tuchel knows the strengths of Harry Kane, having worked with him closely at Bayern Munich. Kane enters this World Cup in the form of his life, having enjoyed another incredible campaign with 64 goals across just 56 appearances in the 25/26 season.

His record during qualifying was just as impressive, with eight goals across eight starts. He had 31 shots across those games (4.10 per 90), seeing 16 of them find the target (2.11 per 90). 

Kane also maintained an average of 2.17 shots on target per 90 in the Champions League during the 25/26 campaign, netting 14 goals across just 12 starts. He’s on penalties for England, and with the whole team built around him - I think he gets fed chances pretty regularly.

It’s not like England to knock down their best players… 

Jude Bellingham is clearly one of the most talented players in the England squad, yet the narrative around him heading into this World Cup seems to be one of real doubt, with many suggesting that Morgan Rogers should start this first game.

Bellingham has to play a leading role at this World Cup, in my opinion. He’s battled with injuries and a tough set of circumstances at Real Madrid over the last year, but he’s still got so much quality and that bit of X factor you need at a major tournament.

I personally think talk of Bellingham being arrogant is a bit exaggerated, he’ll be key in moments when Kane drops into deeper pockets, which vacates space for Bellingham to be a real box crasher - like he was in his most successful season for Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti. 

I do concede that Bellingham can be a bit petulant when things don’t go his way. I expect him to be fired up for this opener, just like he was during qualifying - picking up two yellow cards across just four starts for the Three Lions.

This guy is seriously talented and will certainly play in the Premier League next season having been on loan from Tottenham at Hamburg during the 25/26 campaign.

He scored six goals from centre back across 27 starts, only Fabio Vieira (seven) scored more for Hamburg, which shows you just how much of an attacking threat Vuskovic can be with his stature and impressive leap.

He averaged 1.18 shots per 90 for Hamburg during the 25/26 campaign, and could emerge as a breakout star in a generally ageing squad for Croatia, who may also look to use set pieces as an avenue to goal, given a slight lack of creativity from open play.

This is a very nice price for O’Reilly to have a shot on target in England’s opening game. It’s clear that Tuchel really trusts O’Reilly as his main left back having not called up an obvious backup for the City man and his ability to arrive in the box late could be crucial for England at the World Cup.

O’Reilly featured in this role regularly for City during the 25/26 season, frequently arriving late in the box to get on the end of crosses and act as an extra box presence to Erling Haaland. He can perform a similar role for England during the summer, especially in moments when Kane drops a bit deeper - opening up space for O’Reilly and Bellingham to crash the box.

O’Reilly scored five goals from this role in the most recent Premier League campaign, averaging 1.39 shots per 90 and 0.51 shots on target per 90. He had two shots in England’s final warm-up game against Costa Rica, showing how effective he can be as a shot threat for England.