England vs. Croatia Prediction: Euro 2020 Betting Odds

You can bank on this being a revenge game for England. It’s been three years, but the sting of losing to Croatia in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup likely hasn’t worn off for Harry Kane and company.

England comes into this game as a -164 favourite to win on the soccer odds. Croatia is a +460 underdog, while a draw is at +260.

England vs. Croatia Odds

England is -476 on the draw no bet odds, while Croatia sits at +290. Oddsmakers are favouring a low scoring game as the Under is at -164 and the Over is at +123 on a 2.5-goal total. Croatia isn’t expected to come out to a hot start, as they’re +215 to be the first team to score, while England is -204 and no goals in the game is at +740.

These teams are the two favourites to win Group D. England has the best odds of taking the group at -270, while Croatia is next at +299. The English are expected to walk all straight through Group D. They’re +10,000 to reach the knockout stage and have the second-best odds (behind France) to win the tournament at +573. Croatia might not win the group, but it would be a shock to not see them move on. They’re -357 to reach the knockout stage and +3278 to win the tournament.

England

There’s a lot of pressure on manager Gareth Southgate in this tournament. He’s been at the helm for five years now and with the semi-finals and the final scheduled at Wembley Stadium, expectations for this team are high. The best result in a major international tournament Southgate has had, was the semi-final loss to Croatia at the 2018 World Cup. This is a stronger roster than the 2018 squad and anything short of a championship will be a disappointment. They’re also coming in filled with confidence after winning their last six games

This will be England’s best shot to win the Euro Cup in years. They’re playing all of their group stage matches at Wembley and they’re led by one of the top Premier League scorers, Harry Kane. He already has the 2018 World Cup Golden Boot award under his belt, three Premier League Golden Boots and he’s a +520 favourite to be the top goalscorer in the tournament. Kane had 12 goals in the qualifying round and he will be the biggest reason this squad thrives or falls short of expectation.

The main health concern for England is the status of centre-back Harry Maguire and midfielder Jordan Henderson. Maguire hasn’t played since damaging ligaments in his ankle on May 9, but it’s encouraging to see him training with the team. If he can’t make it back against Croatia, we could still see him at some point in the tournament. Henderson has mostly been out of action since groin surgery in February. He did, however, see some limited playing time in a 1-0 win over Romania last week.

Croatia

Croatia was matched in the most difficult qualifying group and came out on top, so they have big expectations heading into this tournament. Manager Zlatko Dalic made an immediate impact on this team when he took over in 2017. Struggling to qualify for the 2018 World Cup before Dalic took over, he guided Croatia through qualification play-offs and to the World Cup Final, where they lost to France (the favourite in this tournament).

With striker Mario Mandzukic retiring from the international team, Luka Modric will be the veteran voice for this squad. The 2018 Ballon d’Or winner’s quick feet and vision remain strong despite being 35-years-old. As Modric goes, this team will likely go.

Something to take into consideration, is that even though Croatia won their qualifying group, their 17 points was actually the lowest total of the 10 group winners. The only injury news of note, is the absence of defender Dejan Lovren, who is reportedly set to miss at least the opening match against England.