EA FC 26 has simulated England's opening World Cup 2026 fixture against Croatia, and the Three Lions find themselves in a hole early on before mounting a stunning comeback. Ante Budimir proved the thorn in England's side in the simulation, scoring twice to put Croatia ahead. However, a resilient England side, led by captain Harry Kane, fought back to win 4-2.
Nightmare Start for England
Thomas Tuchel's tactical nous was put to the test in a shocking defensive display by England against Croatia. The Three Lions found themselves on the brink of disaster in their World Cup 2026 opener thanks to a nightmare start to their tournament. That's the verdict of EA Sports FC 26, which predicted England's first Group L match in the gruelling Texas heat. Tuchel will need to pull out all the stops if the sports simulation is accurate.
England's campaign for a second World Cup trophy began at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, on the edge of Dallas, with a 9pm BST kick-off on Wednesday, June 17. England's preparations had been far from ideal, with a kit theft and losing Tino Livramento to injury. But Tuchel hoped those setbacks wouldn't affect the result of their first match of the tournament.
Simulation Details
In the simulation, Tuchel chose to deploy John Stones ahead of Ezri Konsa alongside Marc Guehi at centre-back. There were no other major shocks, with starts for youngsters Nico O'Reilly and Elliot Anderson. England's predicted starting XI was: Jordan Pickford; Reece James, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Nico O'Reilly; Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson; Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Marcus Rashford; Harry Kane.
What followed the first whistle was nothing short of a catastrophe. England endured a torrid opening to the tournament, finding themselves in trouble from the very start. A lapse of discipline from Marcus Rashford was penalised after he pushed Ante Budimir during a Croatia corner. Budimir dispatched his penalty straight down the centre, leaving Jordan Pickford helpless to his right as Croatia took an early 1-0 lead.
Before England could even process the shock of going 1-0 down so early, the roof caved in on them. On 15 minutes, Budimir doubled both his personal tally and Croatia's advantage with a thunderous header beyond Pickford from Ivan Perisic's cross. England looked paralysed in response, unable to break down a Croatia side who happily sat back and couldn't believe their luck. The Three Lions were utterly impotent, lacking belief and guile.
Kane Leads the Fightback
With the match slowly slipping away, it took heroics from skipper Harry Kane to rescue England. After 23 minutes, Anderson finally unlocked the Croatian defence and Kane drilled his effort low and hard to haul his side back into the contest. The momentum shifted just before the interval. Kane was denied at point blank range by Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, but the captain would not be denied. From the resulting corner, Declan Rice found Kane, who then rose highest to power a header home and claw back a two-goal deficit, ensuring England were back level at the break.
Second Half Masterstroke
The second half needed a managerial masterstroke, and so it proved as Tuchel called upon supersub Anthony Gordon to change the game. The winger replaced a frustrated and quiet Rashford to turn the game on its head. From 2-0 down, England were about to lead 3-2. On 69 minutes, Gordon laid the ball square to Kane and while Livakovic thwarted the Bayern Munich forward again, Bukayo Saka was lurking at the back post to pounce and score into an empty net.
England fans were in raptures, but it got better still. With two minutes of the 90 remaining, Reece James' inch-perfect cross from the byline picked out Gordon in acres of space near the penalty spot. Barcelona's newest signing headed home to put the result beyond doubt, making it 4-2 and putting the exclamation point on a thrilling comeback. Despite enduring a horror show at the start of the match, England showed resilience to begin their World Cup 2026 campaign with a bang.
Final Score
England 4 - 2 Croatia
