England face Croatia in Rijeka on Saturday in a Nations League game that, officially, no Croatia supporter can attend. Kick-off is at 18:00 CEST (17:00 BST) at the Stadion HNK Rijeka, and both sides are on three points.

UEFA ordered the match to be played behind closed doors as a sanction for crowd trouble at Croatia's Nations League quarter-final against France in March 2025. The England Supporters Travel Club says UEFA and the FA agreed that 100 of its members can attend, and Thomas Tuchel said local children will also be at the stadium, which he called small and close to the pitch. It is not the first time the fixture has been played this way. The 2018 Nations League game in Rijeka, a 0-0 draw, was also behind closed doors, under a different sanction.

Level on three points

Both sides have one win and one defeat. England lost 3-2 to Spain at Wembley, then beat Czechia 2-0 in Prague on Tuesday, with Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane scoring in the second half against ten men. Kane and Gordon have now scored in both of England's matches. Croatia beat Czechia 2-1 on the opening matchday and lost 4-1 in Spain. Our England v Spain recap and England v Czechia recap cover both games.

Spain, who have beaten both sides, lead Group A3 with six points from two games and also play Czechia on Saturday. The top two in each League A group go through to the quarter-finals.

A new coach and a cup-game feel

Slaven Bilić has returned as Croatia's head coach, and Tuchel said that makes the hosts dangerous, because everyone tries to impress a new coach. England had three days between games, which Tuchel said let him manage the load of players such as Elliot Anderson and Gordon. Nico O'Reilly has left camp for treatment, and Tuchel said everyone else trained on Friday.

It feels a little bit like a cup game

Thomas Tuchel, speaking before the game in Rijeka on Friday 2 October

Tuchel also warned against treating the day as pre-season, with so many children in the ground, and said the atmosphere will be very different from a proper football crowd. It is, he said, a crucial Nations League game.

England beat Croatia 4-2 in the group stage of this summer's World Cup and 1-0 at Euro 2020. Croatia won the 2018 World Cup semi-final 2-1.