Why England vs Croatia will always be the defining game of this generation

Gareth Southgate also knows that whatever happens on Sunday, there is more at stake than just a place in the inaugural Uefa Nations League finals in Portugal in June

Gareth Southgate is meticulous in his research and preparation but he knows that there is only so much more that he can do to ready his players for their next match.

Sunday’s Uefa Nations League game with Croatia is England’s third game against the same team in four months. Last month they went to Rijeka for a creditable Nations League draw. Back in July, of course, they lost the World Cup semi-final to them in Moscow.

So there is no point in poring over any DVDs or scouting reports on Friday or Saturday, to find out just how influential Luka Modric is, or how incisive Ivan Rakitic is, or how dogged Domagoj Vida is when the Croatian area is threatened. “We’ve got two days to prepare,” Southgate said last night. “We’ll look at their game tonight, but we know pretty much all there is to know about them. Most of all, that their desire and mentality are brilliant.”

Southgate also knows that whatever happens on Sunday, there is more at stake than just a place in the inaugural Uefa Nations League finals in Portugal in June. There is the sense that his team is still progressing and improving. And that the World Cup campaign was a staging post for this team, and not just their peak.

Because that defeat to Croatia in the Luzhniki is already the definitive England game of this generation. They are unlikely to ever play another as important as that one. That night will hang over these players forever and the only way that they can get dismiss that shadow is by reaching a major final. Until then, everything that they do will be compared to that night. Every mistake they make will be a continuation of it, every win a response to it.

That was the framing even for England’s October internationals: the 0-0 empty-ground draw in Rijeka was an improvement on the Luzhniki, because England did not get overrun again by Modric. The 3-2 win in Seville was an even bigger improvement, as England beat a serious team in a serious game away from Wembley for the first time since 2001.

Beating Croatia on Sunday will be the final step. And after they beat Spain 3-2 in Zagreb on Thursday night, they will be flying again, full of their own confidence and with their sights on the Nations League finals. “It has shown the quality Croatia have,” Southgate said. “We knew it was a tough game, the first game they've had at home with a crowd since the World Cup, so an electric atmosphere. They've shown quality and resilience. It sets up a really good finish to the year here.”

The World Cup semi-final loss still lingers (Getty Images) (Getty)

England were the better team when the two teams met in Rijeka in October and Marcus Rashford missed two good chances to win the game for England. Had he taken them, England would now be on six points and needing just a draw from Sunday to progress. England may want to play like they did in Seville but there was lots of space to run into that night and Croatia will be far too canny to give them that.

And Southgate knows, having seen England’s 3-0 defeat of the United States, that this team is not perfect yet. As soon as they gave Croatia a glimpse of an opening at the Luzhniki they had lost their lead. Give Croatia an opening on Sunday and they will be finished, too.

England could and perhaps should have won the last meeting (PA)

“I didn't like us as much without the ball, and they got through us too easily, and we didn't play with discipline in the end,” Southgate said. “We were wide open and, if we do that on Sunday, we will lose. We will be making that point clear. If we want to be a top team we can't get to 3-0 and not play without the ball. We have to play with intelligence right through the game.”

That was what England failed to do in Moscow, and even if England take the lead on Sunday the nerves will kick in that they might throw it away, lose, and end up getting relegated. The Luzhniki will always be there for this generation of players and fans, and even lifting the Nations League trophy next June will not be enough to get away from that.