Croatia lost 2-1 to England at Wembley in the fifth round of the elite division of the Nations League. Petar Sučić equalised in the 59th minute, but Harry Kane converted a penalty in the 64th minute, which was conceded by Ivan Smolčić.
Manager Slaven Bilić could not count on Ivan Perišić, Josip Šutalo, Kristijan Jakić, Luka Sučić, Marin Pongračić, Franjo Ivanović and Andrej Kramarić. Croatia's starting 11 at Wembley were: Dominik Livaković - Joško Gvardiol, Luka Vušković, Josip Stanišić - Nikola Vlašić, Josip Mišić, Mateo Kovačić, Ivan Smolčić - Martin Baturina, Petar Sučić - Igor Matanović. In the second half, Ante Budimir, Mario Pašalić, Luka Modrić, Marco Pašalić and Lovro Majer came on, with Majer entering only in the 90th minute.
According to ratings, Martin Baturina received an average rating of 4.3, Petar Sučić 3.6, while Luka Vušković and Luka Modrić received 3.4. Joško Gvardiol was rated 2.1, Ivan Smolčić 2.3, and Ante Budimir 2.2. Manager Bilić was rated 3.0.
Croatia's defeat to England has complicated its situation in the elite division of the Nations League. It is in the race for a spot among the two best third-placed teams that will secure their status. The most likely opponent in the play-offs is Slovenia (19.1 per cent), followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina (14.9 per cent) and Kosovo (9.1 per cent). The total probability of a regional meeting is 43.1 per cent.
In the final round, Croatia plays its last Group 3 Nations League match against Czechia on Sunday at 20:45 at the Opus Arena. Ahead of the final round, Spain leads with 15 points, England has 12 points, Croatia remains on three points, and Czechia has no points.
