England begins its 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with a challenging match against Croatia on Wednesday, June 17th. The Group L opener will see the debut of Jude Bellingham for England and Luka Modrić for Croatia in the competition. The match is scheduled to begin at 14:00 hours Guatemala time. Fans can follow live, minute-by-minute coverage of the game. This fixture marks a significant early test for both national teams as they vie for a spot in the expanded 48-team tournament. The game is anticipated to be a closely contested encounter between two European footballing powers. This is the first step in a lengthy qualification process for both nations.