ARLINGTON, Texas -- Following a week involving theft, thunderstorms and a brutal eve of tournament injury, England's 2026 World Cup campaign finally gets under way in the Dallas humidity. Croatia are first up, complete with England's chief tormentor Luka Modric. Couple that with 60 years of hurt, high expectations and players on their last legs, it's just another major tournament for England.
The headlines this week have been dominated by matters off the field. After their final warm-up match -- a 3-0 win over Costa Rica -- England travelled to their tournament base on Saturday. But by that point, news had broken of kit being stolen from the logistics team already in Dallas. Then on Sunday, a tornado warning was issued for that part of town. That was also the day Tino Livramento suffered his tournament-ending calf injury.
So by Tuesday afternoon, as England made the 500 mile trip from Kansas City to Dallas -- a mere hop by American standards -- Trevoh Chalobah was on his way out, and England had lost a key defensive utility player. Best laid plans and all that.
But that's why the FA went for Thomas Tuchel.
"I wasn't aware our stuff was stolen, there was no danger with the tornado, I felt the rain, but it went past us. The first two things didn't bother us," Tuchel said. "It had no negative influence. The heat is the heat to experience it and acclimatise. We came into the tournament knowing there would be things that could influence us, but we won't lose our spirit or allow it to impact us."
It's against that backdrop of the men's long wait for silverware that they went for Tuchel to manage the unpredictability of World Cups, but also have the steely-eyed experience and nous of what it takes to deliver in major tournaments. He said as much in his first meeting with the squad back in March 2025 where he told them unequivocally their goal was to add a second star to their shirt. He showed them a map of Mount Everest -- mapping out each international camp between then and the World Cup final. The hope is they reach the summit on July 19.
After Scotland's fans flooded Boston, it's been more a trickle of England fans arriving in Dallas. Downtown was eerily quiet on Monday evening, 48 hours out from kick-off. A handful of Charlton Athletic fans were asking where's good to go. A few England fans were in Dealey Plaza earlier taking their photos. You bumped into other fans at random spots around the city, but taxi drivers were left flummoxed. They'd seen Boston and the Tartan Army takeover, but "where is everyone?" was frequently asked. By Tuesday, a few more of the predicted 15,000 England supporters had arrived, a few more of the city-centre bars seeing flags draped around the outside railings. But it wasn't Tartan Army scale, far from it.
But those who have travelled, make the trip in hope. It's the biannual process for England fans of re-living past footballing traumas, lamenting near-misses, and allowing in that gnawing feeling of perhaps this being the time where England's men's team can end the 60-year drought. That year 1966 hangs like an albatross around the neck of every generation following those boys in red.
The squad Tuchel chose was controversial: no Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White or Trent Alexander-Arnold. Tuchel prioritised the collective, frequently talking about the need for these players to develop a brotherhood. Several players were low on match time: Reece James, Livramento and John Stones. Bukayo Saka was nursing an Achilles injury. Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and Morgan Rogers had played a crazy number of minutes over the preceding season. There was a lot of juggling to do.
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England took a bit of time to find their stride against New Zealand, but by the time they faced Costa Rica in Orlando, they looked far more in their stride. They then beat Miami FC in a behind-closed-doors friendly 6-0 last Thursday, Ivan Toney scoring a hat-trick. By Sunday, Livramento's injury has disrupted plans and put a downer on things. His injury robs them of key cover at both right and left back, but Tuchel is clearly confident of James' durability, and Jarell Quansah, Djed Spence and Chalobah's ability to cover there if needed.
Ahead of Croatia, the key selection calls are at left wing, No.10 and centre back. It's between Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford for who starts on the left of the attack, with Gordon in pole position there. He has to fit the three of Marc Guéhi, Konsa and Stones into two spots in central defence. And then there's the dilemma of Jude Bellingham or Rogers in the No.10 spot. Noni Madueke could yet start on the right wing if they're concerned about Saka's fitness, but the man himself says he's ready to gamble on his Achilles holding up.
"At the end of the day, people don't really care how you're feeling, they're expecting you to deliver and perform," Saka said on Monday. "I'm happy to take that gamble, and they paid off, I'd say, and I'm going to continue doing that. But I'm feeling a lot better than I did in March."
Along with England's selection calls, chief concern for Tuchel will be how to halt Croatia's midfield from dictating the tempo of the match. England have fallen foul of that before -- Croatia ended their World Cup hopes at the semifinal stage in 2018, with Modric the tormentor. He's now one of three outfield players in this World Cup the other side of 40, but he is showing no signs of slowing down. The same goes for Ivan Perisic, 37, as this golden generation looks to make a dent on the global stage for what you expect is their final time together.
"They just love football," ex-Croatia defender Darijo Srna tells ESPN. "They enjoy every minute of being out on the pitch. Luka is an amazing guy. He's so humble, just not like a star at all. He's a normal person, and is like a good red wine. The older, the better. It was a real pleasure to play with him. He's a leader with and without the ball.
"With Ivan, everywhere he's played, he's been successful. He has a special mindset, strong character and works hard. He's a key player and those two are probably the two best players in the history of Croatia."
Croatia will be targeting a run deep into the knockouts, complete with the younger group coming through spearheaded by Josko Gvardiol, Luka Vuskovic, Martin Baturina and Peter Sucic.
"Croatia is a small country, but always dangerous, with amazing players and character," Srna adds. "We have confidence and if we get to our high level, we are a dangerous team. The last thing we want to do is put pressure on them, but we want to enjoy watching them play their game."
Harry Kane is a former teammate of Modric at Spurs, but also on the wrong end of that match in 2018. England have met since, defeating Croatia 1-0 at Euro 2020, but Kane is fully aware of the danger the opposition pose.
"We expect a tough game tomorrow, they have talented players who can be dangerous and we need to be ready for that," Kane said. "Ultimately we need to be ready and when we're at our best, we're a tough team to beat both from a physical and technical point of view.
And all this under the control of referee Clement Turpin who Tuchel had called "Grade E," "one out of 10" and "absolutely terrible" after a Champions League match in 2023. "He's a top referee," Tuchel said of Turpin on Tuesday.
It'll come as some relief to England that their World Cup is finally off and running. "It's for sure one of the best opportunities we have as a team to win it but first of all, we need to start well tomorrow and prove we have the capabilities to go far in the tournament," Kane said.
It's taken a long time for Group L to tick around with this match in Dallas one of the last of the first round of games. England cannot afford to start slow at this World Cup, you feel momentum is key. Tuchel has already made his big calls in the squad selection, now it's time to see his blueprint in action as they start their bid to end the long 60-year wait.
"I am grateful to be in this position," Tuchel said. "It comes with responsibility, I want to live up to that. I want to support the players. Of course we dream, we have a right to dream, but we don't want to be delusional -- the responsibility comes with the effort to ensure we deserve the best outcome and that starts tomorrow."