England head to Croatia on Saturday (5pm) for their penultimate match in this elongated international break as they look to build on their midweek 2-0 win in the Czech Republic.
Thomas Tuchel’s men have a win and a loss on the board so far in Nations League Group 3, after a thrilling 3-2 defeat to Spain on matchday one.
England and Croatia are no strangers to each other with ample meetings in recent years. Their most recent tete-a-tete was a 4-2 win for Tuchel’s side in the World Cup group stage just over three months ago.
Saturday’s game has an intriguing element to it considering it will be played in a mostly empty stadium in Rijeka. That is because of crowd disturbances involving Croatia fans during a game against France last year.
A section of supporters were taken into custody on suspicion of making Nazi salutes during the match, and released without prosecution because of a lack of evidence.
The fixture will not however be played entirely without a crowd. The BBC states that between 3,000 and 6,000 Croatian schoolchildren will be in attendance whilst England have been granted 100 complimentary tickets, meaning there will at least be some atmosphere.
Tuchel, when asked about this aspect of the game, said: “To be behind closed doors, it’s never nice. It’s a strange atmosphere. Everyone would love the atmosphere in the stadium – a proper football crowd which would be very, very difference. This is a part we have to take into consideration. We cannot switch off and be in holiday mood. It might feel a bit like pre-season but it’s not. It’s a crucial match in the Nations League.”
In the opposite dugout will be a familiar foe for England. Slaven Bilic has been a player and manager in the Premier League as well as a thorn in England’s side whilst in his first spell as boss of his country.
The high point of that undoubtedly came when, in 2007, Bilic led Croatia to a famous 3-2 win at Wembley which stopped the Three Lions from qualifying for the following summer’s European Championships.
After Zlatko Dalic ended his long spell in charge of the national team in the summer, Bilic – now aged 58 – took up the reins for a second time.
On the prospect of facing Bilic, Tuchel added: “We don’t know what’s coming. The coach before was very fluid and switching between back four and back five. With Bilic for two matches, he has gone with a back four. But we never know. It might be a surprise.
“It makes it a little difficult because we don’t have evidence with Bilic as Croatia coach. But sometimes it makes it easier because you don’t prepare for every scenario you see. You just have two matches.
“Hopefully we can implement our style. Croatia can hurt any team and it’s important to break the rhythm and it’s basically the task for tomorrow.”
Following Saturday’s trip, England conclude this mini-section of games with a return to Wembley on Tuesday night when they welcome the Czechs (7.45pm).
