Croatia 0-0 England LIVE: Score, goals and Nations League updates; played in empty stadium

Croatia vs England: Express Sport brings you LIVE Nations League updates

CROATIA 0-0 ENGLAND

England XI: Pickford, Walker, Chilwell, Dier, Stones, Maguire, Barkley, Henderson, Kane, Sterling, Rashford

Croatia XI: Luvakovic, Lovren, Vida, Jedvaj, Pivaric, Kovacic, Modric, Rakitic, Perisic, Rebic, Kramaric

• Nations League clash will take place behind closed doors

CROATIA 0-0 ENGLAND

8: Jordan Henderson collects the first booking of the evening and the crowd goes wild… The Liverpool midfielder tugged Ivan Rakitic back when the break looked on.

5: OK, let’s try and focus on the football… if that’s remotely possible. Both sides have settled nicely with England dominating the possession statistics. No chances to speak of though – Vida is a unit at the back for Croatia. Surprised he wasn’t snapped up by United actually.

3: If ever a match proved that International football or Premier League football or whatever football is made worthwhile by fans – this is it. I hope that the FA see this and think twice about ticket prices and travel arrangements that are fair for the fans.

CROATIA 0-0 ENGLAND

1: Quite a relief that Sky Sports commentator chose NOT to say ‘And it’s LIVE’ in his traditional over the top manner. It would have been too weird in this silent stadium. This is surreal.

Oh, and no crowd means no England Band… which can only be a good thing for ears across the nation.

Two-minute warning

19:43: I won’t lie folks – hearing the national anthems played with nobody inside the stadium is a strange sensation. A few claps from those inside and that’s about it! How on earth are these two going to treat this like a competitive match?!

View…

19:40: Sounds like a terrible view, but at least it’s free! Some spectators gathered on two balconies in block of flats overlooking the HNK Rijeka Stadium. A few gathered on a small hill, looking on, 10 tops. What a Friday night!!

Ross Barkley

19:35: Once a diamond… and could be again? There’s been plenty of negative tweets about the Chelsea midfielder starting this evening, but I feel he should have his say.

“I feel much more mature and I’m ready to show what I’m capable of – which I’ve shown in spells,” he said. “Everybody develops at different rates.

“I understand my football better now, more than I ever have understood it before. I’m happy, confident and going in the right direction.”

Twitter round-up

Francis: Ross Barkley has one decent game vs Southampton (who are rubbish) and suddenly he is England’s saviour midfielder. Sorry, his problem has always been how inconsistent he is. He’ll be back on the Chelsea bench in no time when the big sides arrive.

Hitch: So after all the hype, Mount, Maddison, Winks and Sancho are all on the bench. Instead, Barkley (who’s been out of form and has hardly played for a couple of years) gets a start. So much for the new-blood revolution…

Rae: Henderson and Dier in the same team again?! I don’t get Southgate. He pretends to be a risk taker and then picks two of the most defensive and functional players available.

Oh so quiet

19:25: Shh shh… Yes I’m referencing a 1995 song by Björk for almost no reason whatsoever. That’s how we do things in this blog on a Friday night…

It’s eerily quiet inside the stadium with just a few hundred people inside. There are around 100 members from the English and Croatian FA with an extra 50-odd members of the media.

All that can be heard is rather terrible music being played over the PA system.

Generation game

19:20: Who remembers the Generation game? Actually I don’t want to make myself feel old…

Mason Mount, Jadon Sancho and James Maddison all spoke to the media earlier in the week as they enjoyed their first taste of a senior England call-up.

All three have impressed this season – Mount on loan at Derby from Chelsea, Sancho in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund and Maddison at Leicester – and will be desperate for a chance to impress.

Leicester’s Ben Chilwell is likely to add to his first cap in last month’s friendly win over Switzerland following the withdrawals of fellow left-backs Luke Shaw and Danny Rose.

Hangover

19:15: Since their 2-1 victory against England at the World Cup, Croatia have failed to win any of their last three games (D1 L2).

England banter

19:10: I understand what Gareth Southgate is talking about here – so many people fail to understand my hilarious humour…

Southgate believes English humour can sometimes be misconstrued as a sense of entitlement as he defended the approach of his players at the World Cup.

After their 2-1 extra-time win in Moscow, midfielder Luka Modric spoke out against what he considered to be a level of disrespect shown towards Croatia.

He and manager Zlatko Dalic again aired those beliefs on the eve of the behind-closed-doors Nations League meeting on the Adriatic coast, as Modric claimed that it gave Croatia extra motivation to make sure they beat Southgate’s men.

England fans ensured the “It’s coming home” refrain went viral during the tournament as belief grew that World Cup success could be achieved against the odds.

But Southgate, part of the squad at Euro 96 when the hit from Baddiel, Skinner and the Lightning Seeds which contained the phrase first made its mark, insists his players and staff show nothing but respect for their opponents.

“The song is humour isn’t it – it is English humour,” he said. “Unless you’re a fan of Fawlty Towers and stuff like that maybe you don’t get the slant on it. It is interesting how we are viewed by the rest of the world sometimes when you travel.

Twitter round-up

Tom: I think one of Harry Kane’s legs will have to fall off before someone is finally convinced to give him a rest.

John: Fantastic for Ben Chilwell to get his first England start tonight… A natural wing-back, he’ll thrive in that 3-5-2 formation. Claude Puel having a positive impact on yet another young player’s career.

Andy: Croatia are playing a midfield of Kovacic, Rakitic and Luka Modric. England are playing a midfield of Henderson, Dier and Ross Barkley. I lost any enthusiasm I had going into the game. I get England don’t have world class midfielders, but they have a few bright ones.

Wait…

19:00: Hold on a moment, why on earth have they produced a match programme when no supporters are allowed inside the stadium? Presumably they allowed a work-experience kid to test his skills on one of the more low-selling copies…

Joyless scenery…

18:55: Very evocative bloke is Croatian Football Federation president Davor Suker, who thinks tonight’s clash will be “joyless scenery” due to the game taking place behind closed doors.

“Unfortunately, the spectacle against England is set for a joyless scenery – due to UEFA sanctions, it will be played behind closed doors,” Suker wrote in his programme notes.

“From the bottom of my heart, I hope this is the last time that the vice-champions of the world play in an empty stadium, and I call upon every segment of society to join the fight against violence, racism, discrimination and pyrotechnics in the stands, in order to enjoy these kinds of events in front of full crowds.”

Ch-ch-ch-changes

18:50: I think the ‘ch-ch-ch-changes’ headline is getting old too, but until I think of something mildly amusing we’re stuck with it.

Anyway, Gareth Southgate has made changes to his starting XI and the formation too. Say goodbye to the back three and say hello to the familiar flat back four.

As expected, Leicester’s Ben Chilwell was handed his first senior start following the squad withdrawals of fellow left-backs Luke Shaw and Danny Rose.

His inclusion was one of seven changes made by Southgate from the 1-0 friendly win over Switzerland last month.

Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling were all recalled while Ross Barkley made his first England appearance in 868 days.

Croatia boss Dalic named his side on the eve of the game as World Cup Golden Ball winner Luka Modric captains the hosts.

‘Make Your Move’

18:43: Why is England’s first team striker coach, Allan Russell, putting three of Chelsea’s Spanish players through their paces? Anyway, above is a video of Davide Zappacosta, Pedro and Alvaro Morata, who just got himself back into the Spanish international side that will play England on Monday. Hope he’s not TOO sharp!

Twitter round-up

Tim: If Gareth Southgate had any sense he would have just called up every eligible Arsenal player for this game because they’re used to playing in a silent stadium.

Jimmy: Gareth Southgate did a great job building momentum at the World Cup in the summer, but my word, I can’t imagine anything more bland than watching England vs Croatia in the League Of Nations.

Skint: Who cares about tonight? We actually won a penalty shootout at the World Cup. We could lose 10-0 and I’d still love Gareth Southgate.

How about reading about it, Jimmy?

Behind closed doors

18:40: So, tonight’s game at Stadion HNK Rijeka will be played behind-closed-doors as part of a UEFA sanction that has been hanging over Croatia since 2015.

They were ordered to play two UEFA matches in front of an empty stadium after a swastika was marked on the pitch ahead of a Euro 2016 qualifier.

England manager Gareth Southgate showed his players a video of Barcelona’s game against Las Palmas from last year, which was also played in front of no fans, to prepare them for a unique test.

They are known as ‘ghost games’ for good reason…

Croatia vs England

18:45: As you’ve probably seen below, here are tonight’s line-ups. Plenty of interesting decisions to mull over before kick off. I’ll get to the full analysis in a few moments.

England XI: Pickford, Walker, Chilwell, Dier, Stones, Maguire, Barkley, Henderson, Kane, Sterling, Rashford

Subs: Trippier, Butland, Alexander-Arnold, Dunk, Winks, Chalobah, Mount, Maddison, Bettinelli, Sancho.

Croatia XI: Luvakovic, Lovren, Vida, Jedvaj, Pivaric, Kovacic, Modric, Rakitic, Perisic, Rebic, Kramaric

Ninety three days of hurt

18:35: Doesn’t have the same ring to it, right?

Three months on from the biggest game England had played in 28 years, the Three Lions get a shot at some modicum of revenge.

In Russia, Kieran Trippier’s early free-kick put Southgate’s side ahead and on course for the World Cup final, only for Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic to score the goals which saw Croatia progress at England’s expense.

It brought an end to a surprisingly successful summer for England, with the players wanting to exact a little retribution in Rijeka.

Good evening

18:30: Hello everyone, and welcome to UEFA’s 1… 2… 3… FOURTH best top-tier competition.

Yes, It’s the return of the brand spanking new Nations League. The tournament that’s saved us from meaningless October friendlies against the Faroe Islands.

England get a shot at some modicum of revenge against Croatia tonight. The pair met less than 100 days ago in a World Cup semi-final clash which saw English hearts broken in extra-time.

Can Gareth Southgate right the wrongs that unfolded in July? We’ll soon find out!

… Oh wait, I forgot about the UEFA Super Cup. Tonight is the FIFTH best top-tier competition.

CROATIA vs ENGLAND

Danny Rose joined Alex McCarthy in pulling out of the England squad through injury, meaning Ben Chilwell is in line to make his first senior start.

Three months after facing one another in the World Cup semi-finals, the Three Lions travel to Rijeka before heading onto an arguably even tougher assignment against Spain.

Southgate will be without Tottenham left-back Rose and Southampton goalkeeper McCarthy for those games after withdrawing from the squad yesterday due to the “minor injuries” they arrived with.

While England still have three others goalkeepers to choose from, it leaves Leicester’s Chilwell as the only left-back in the squad travelling to Croatia.

The 21-year-old got his first chance last month and came off the bench against Switzerland after being called up as a replacement for Manchester United’s Luke Shaw – the same player he replaced in the squad on Sunday.