England vs Croatia Odds & Prediction – Euro 2020 Group D June 13th

• It is England vs Croatia in the opening game of Euro 2020 Group D on Sunday, June 13 at 10:00 am EST
• London’s Wembley will echo to the sound of 22,500 fans for this round 1 game
• We preview the game, look at the odds, and offer a best bet below

England vs Croatia meet in Group D of Euro 2020 on Sunday, June 13 at 10:00 am EST in Wembley Stadium. The English will be hoping to make a winning start to the tournament, especially with having the added advantage of all their group games taking place in London. This is a repeat of the 2018 World Cup semifinal when the Croatians beat Gareth’s Southgate’s men and lost in the final to the eventual winners, France.

We list the odds, preview England vs Croatia, and offer below the best bet for this Euro 2020 Group D game.

England vs Croatia Euro 2020 Odds

Odds as of June 11 at DraftKings

Youthful England, Experienced Croatia

A repeat of a 2018 World Cup semifinal is a great way to open Group D but it is a very different, more youthful, England that faces Croatia at Wembley on Sunday. The Croatians, meanwhile, have added a few new faces to their squad but it is still a vastly experienced outfit that is based around their Class of 2018.

Another day done 💪

The countdown to Croatia continues! pic.twitter.com/sD0SGBrFbv

— England (@England) June 10, 2021

England will be hoping to gain revenge for that semifinal – the Croatians won 2-1 after extra time – but these two have played each other since; the English taking four points from six when the two met in the inaugural Nations League. This included a 2-1 win at Wembley in November 2018 when goals from Jesse Lingard and Harry Kane canceled out Andrej Kramaric’s 57th-minute opener.

England in Form

England’s form coming into this tournament has been good, especially at Wembley where they scored 21 times in four consecutive home wins, and of the 37 goals they scored in qualifying, skipper Harry Kane scored 12. Against what is regarded as lesser opposition, England has been ruthless, but they do often come up short when faced with Europe’s elite.

🇭🇷 #Croatia's final #EURO2020 plans in the making ✅#Vatreni🔥 pic.twitter.com/Jb7ZyoKC5g

— HNS (@HNS_CFF) June 9, 2021

Manager Gareth Southgate has plenty of other attacking options at his disposal, with both Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford now experienced tournament players, along with a plethora of up-and-coming youngsters to pick from like Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho, Phil Foden, and Mason Mount. Southgate’s big quandary is whether to play a back three or back four and this may be affected by an injury to Harry Maguire, which will rule him out until the third group game.

England vs Croatia Head-to-Head Stats

Tournament Savvy Croatia

Croatia’s finest hour came in Russia 2018 when that victory over England in the semifinal set up a final with France – which they went on to lose 4-2 – but their record since has been less than convincing. Two underwhelming Nations League campaigns have followed that successful World Cup and they were beaten 1-0 away in Slovenia at the start of Qatar 2022 qualifying before recording wins over the minnows of Cyprus and Malta.

Stepping it up.

😃 @HarryMaguire93 pic.twitter.com/INg11l5cbw

— England (@England) June 10, 2021

The Croatians did, however, top their qualifying group on the way to these finals – a group that contained Wales, Slovakia, Hungary, and Azerbaijan –  but did so without ever hitting top form, and there is a belief that they now over-rely on their aging stars, in particular Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic. Veteran defenders Domagoj Vida and Dejan Lovren are also still regular starters in this Croatia team, and Southgate will be looking to his youthful attack to exploit their lack of pace.

England’s record against Croatia is a winning one with five wins from their ten meetings, but a win, a loss and a draw in their last three meetings tell the story of two teams that are well-matched, with the Croatians edging the big fixtures in major tournaments.

#Family pic.twitter.com/2ikm3nncYh

— HNS (@HNS_CFF) June 9, 2021

England vs Croatia Best Bets

The home comforts of Wembley should be to England’s advantage and while it will only be a quarter full, it will still sound like a full Wembley and should inspire Southgate’s men. An early goal will be what the crowd demands but the Croatians will be solid early for that reason.

The English start as favorites but are notoriously slow starters at major tournaments and are up against a team who are past masters at tournament soccer. For that reason, I believe there is genuine value here in the draw at +275, although never bet against Kane being the opening goalscorer.

Pick: England and Croatia to draw (+275) / Kane first goalscorer (+350)