While England were sending off Wayne Rooney with a routine 3-0 win over the United States at Wembley, Croatia earned a deserved 3-2 win over Spain at home.
That victory has blown group A4 wide open and means that these teams head into this match knowing that anyone of them could top this group and anyone of them could be relegated.
Spain has six points and currently top the group, while England and Croatia currently have 4 points each.
A draw between these teams would send Spain through as leaders and relegate Croatia on goal difference.
However, a win for either team would automatically relegate their opponents. These possible scenarios make this game even more important.
The past few times that these teams have met we have seen scores like 5-1 and 3-2, but this one looks like it will be as close as Croatia’s 2-1 win over the Three Lions in Russia a couple of months ago.
Croatia may have beaten Spain in their last game, but they seem to only get points when they play at home as they have not recorded a win in any of their away games since the World Cup, drawing 1-1 with Portugal before being thrashed 6-0 by Spain.
England have been in impressive form and they showed their depth when they defeated USA on Thursday – they will be hoping to get the points in this game, but it will take a solid display of football.
Results of each team’s last 5 matches across all leagues and competitions
Football Previews
Please Gamble Responsibly