World Cup 2026 live: latest scores, team news, updates from day 7

How are you gearing up for England’s opener tonight? Our reader Sadie Brew, ten, and her family are practising the national anthem at home in Plano, Texas, before heading out to the match in nearby Dallas.

The Anglo-American England fan, who’s attending her first World Cup with her English dad Sean, Texan mum Jennifer and brothers Sam, seven, and Sawyer, six, can’t believe the day is finally here.

“What an amazing experience for our family, especially my dad, who has waited his whole life for this,” Sadie said. “His home country playing in his heart country.”

The wives and girlfriends of some England players flew to Dallas with two supporters who are also dreaming of World Cup victory.

Katie Goodland, the wife of captain Harry Kane, and Megan Pickford, wife of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, along with other players’ family members were in the business class section of the British Airways flight from Heathrow on Tuesday.

Also onboard were David Rushe, 47, and Jamie Donald, 48, who are hoping to follow the team all the way to the final in New York. The childhood friends from Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, were up early on Wednesday morning preparing for the opening match against Croatia.

Rushe, who is married with three children, said: “I remember watching the [Italy] World Cup in 1990 and thinking it was amazing to see all those England fans. This is a dream come true for me. My missus asked when I would be coming back. I said ‘I don’t know, hopefully after the final.’ She asked me to stay here for a few days if we get knocked out early because she does not want to hear me moaning.”

The friends are preparing to miss the possible last-16 match in Mexico City on July 4 so they can visit Memphis. “I am a great country and western fan and it will be amazing to be there on Independence Day,” Donald said.

He added: “It was great to share the flight with the families of Harry Kane and Jordan Pickford. David is a big supporter of Harry.”

It’s not a World Cup without a blast of Nessun Dorma — but how did it become so synonymous with the tournament, what did it do for the Three Tenors themselves, and how did it change football? Neil Fisher, our executive editor of culture and books, spoke to Korean tenor Seokjong Baek, for whom the song has become his calling card (he even sang it from the Bow Street balcony of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden last week, see video above), and explores the history of the famous aria.

● Read in full: How Nessun Dorma transformed football

So what of Croatia? What do England need to know about them if they are to start the World Cup with a win? And importantly, what do YOU need to know so you can shout at the TV to tell Thomas Tuchel’s side they are doing it all wrong?

Hamzah Khalique-Loonat is again your guide here, looking at how Croatia try to get a grip on games with high levels of possession (70 per cent in qualifying), their favoured formation and why Modric is still so important to their “third-man” combination moves to instigate attacks. It’s the first in our Dossier series analysing England’s World Cup opponents — look out for more from Hamzah throughout the tournament.

● Read in full: How to beat Croatia

Know what a “meat wall” is? Why are England preparing an NFL-style “playbook”? If you thought you’d heard the last of set pieces this season, think again — but the positive news is England are very, very good at them. Our tactical expert Hamzah Khalique-Loonat has the definitive analysis on this, explaining why England are now the masters of the art, where their corners usually land and how some of England’s players make an absolute nuisance of themselves when the ball is delivered.

● Read in full: Frame by frame — how England became set-piece masters

If you’re a regular you’ll know we like to furnish you with our best writing before a World Cup game so you are fully informed before kick-off — on everything from team news, expected tactics, the stadium, the bigger picture… and even what the host city is like as a tourist.

To that end, let’s start you off with Martin Samuel’s scene-setter for England v Croatia, in which he points out that it’s all very well having a strong team ethic, but that won’t be enough for England if they are to go all the way in this World Cup.

● Read in full: The best teams embrace egos — brotherhood won’t be enough for England

Welcome along to our live coverage of day seven of the World Cup — and the first day which features England. Yes, that’s right — this tournament has been rumbling along for a whole week and England haven’t even had a kick yet. Until today. They host Croatia in Dallas at 9pm BST (1pm Pacific, 3pm local, 4pm ET), we’ll have all the build-up right here for you from our correspondents at the game and elsewhere in North America, so no need to go anywhere else.

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