No, England Have Never Opened a World Cup Against Croatia — Here's What Actually Happened
“England's opening group-stage World Cup match is against Croatia”
The argument in brief
The claim that England's opening group-stage World Cup match is against Croatia is false for every tournament on record. At the 2022 World Cup, England opened against Iran; in 2018, they opened against Tunisia. England did face Croatia in 2018 — but that was the semi-final, not a group-stage opener.
Why it spread
England's 2018 semi-final loss to Croatia was one of the most talked-about and heartbreaking moments in recent English football history. That emotional weight made the match unusually memorable, and memory is not a perfect recording — it compresses and reshuffles events. Fans who strongly associate Croatia with England's 2018 World Cup run can easily misplace where in the tournament that game actually fell.
The claim is that England's opening group-stage match at a FIFA World Cup was against Croatia. This is false. For every World Cup England has played in, their first group-stage opponent has never been Croatia.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, England were drawn into Group B alongside the USA, Iran, and Wales. Their opening match was against Iran on November 21, 2022 — a game England won 6-2, according to BBC Sport's match report. Croatia wasn't even in England's group; they were placed in Group F.
Go back to 2018 in Russia, and the picture is the same. According to FIFA's official records, England opened that tournament against Tunisia in Group G, winning 2-1. Croatia did appear in England's 2018 World Cup story — but only later, in the semi-final, where they beat England 2-1 in extra time.
That semi-final defeat is almost certainly the root of this confusion. It was a high-profile, emotionally painful loss that stuck in the memory of English football fans. When people try to recall England's World Cup history, that Croatia match looms large — large enough, it seems, that some have mentally moved it earlier in the tournament than it actually was.
This kind of misremembering is common with sports history. Vivid, emotional moments can distort our sense of when and how they happened. If you see this claim repeated, the fix is simple: check the official FIFA group-stage draw records, which clearly show England's opening opponents for every tournament.
Sources
- FIFA World Cup 2022 Official Draw Results
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, England was drawn into Group B alongside USA, Iran, and Wales. England's opening match was against Iran on November 21, 2022, not Croatia.
- BBC Sport - England vs Iran Match Report
England's first group-stage match at the 2022 World Cup was against Iran, which England won 6-2. Croatia was in Group F, not Group B.
- FIFA World Cup 2018 - England vs Tunisia
At the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, England's opening group-stage match was against Tunisia (Group G), not Croatia. England did face Croatia later in the tournament in the semi-final.