England ring changes for Nations League clash with Croatia
Jude Bellingham, Ezri Konsa, Jordan Pickford, Alex Scott and Jarell Quansah came into England’s starting XI for the Nations League match in Croatia. Trent Alexander-Arnold was one of the players to make way, returning to the bench after making his first start in over a year against Czechia on Tuesday.
England manager Thomas Tuchel made notable changes to the team for their upcoming UEFA Nations League Group C match against Croatia at the Stadion HNK Rijeka. Young talents Bradley Collyer, Ezri Konsa, Jordan Pickford, Alex Scott and Jarell Quansah earned starting spots, while Trent Alexander-Arnold returned to the bench after a first start in over a year against Czechia.
Quansah replaced Alexander-Arnold at right-back, and Konsa moved into central defense alongside Marc Guehi, who was absent due to an injury. Jude Bellingham returned to the number 10 position following his bench role in Prague, replacing Morgan Rogers. Pickford took over goalkeeping duties after James Trafford started the first two matches.
Bournemouth's Alex Scott made his first start, surpassing Myles Lewis-Skelly. Croatia's captain Luka Modrić led his team, which featured experienced players Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol and Brighton's Luka Vuskovic. The match is behind closed doors due to racist fan behavior from the Croatian Football Association in a 2025 game against France.
Despite the sanctions, 6,200 local schoolchildren and 400 supervising adults, along with 100 England fans, were expected to attend the game.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
