England Faces Croatia Without O'Reilly as Kane Leads the Team

England will miss Manchester City defender Nico O’Reilly when they face Croatia in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday. His injury adds to the team's defensive worries ahead of the League A Group A3 match in Rijeka.

O’Reilly has gone back to Manchester City after leaving the England squad due to injury. He will miss the game against Croatia and also Tuesday’s match against Czechia.

This news comes as England manager Thomas Tuchel deals with missing players in his defense. The Three Lions travel to Croatia after winning 2-0 against Czechia, as noted in a UEFA report on Saturday.

England will be led by captain Harry Kane, who has been scoring goals for the national team. UEFA mentioned that Kane and Anthony Gordon have scored in both of England's Nations League matches so far. Kane has also been a crucial player for the team lately.

The England captain has netted 19 goals in his last 21 games for the Three Lions. This includes a brace against Croatia during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

On the other hand, Croatia will be looking to bounce back from a heavy 4-1 loss to Spain in their last Nations League game. Both teams currently have three points from their first two matches. England lost to Spain before beating Czechia, while Croatia won against Czechia before their defeat to Spain.

Tuchel acknowledged that the match will be tough. He called Croatia a “big football nation and a proud country.”

“It’s beautiful weather and friendly people. We have been seven weeks together in the United States, so we have a great bond. To be here in this beautiful place and train in this environment, what is not to love? We expect a difficult match tomorrow against a big football nation and a proud country, a side full of quality,” Tuchel said.

Regarding his squad, Tuchel said that Ezri Konsa had returned to training but confirmed that O’Reilly has left the camp.

“Ezri Konsa seems to be back after he did the full training today. He is a key player for us and gives us a lot of hope. Nico O’Reilly has left the camp and we have competition on the right side. Marc Guehi should be ready to go and very likely to start.”

England is also facing uncertainty at right-back. Reece James, Djed Spence, and Ben White are not available, while Tino Livramento withdrew because of injury, according to UEFA's match build-up.

Despite these defensive issues, England has strong attacking players. Kane and Gordon have scored in each of the team’s first two Nations League games.

Croatia coach Slaven Bilić said his team needs to be solid defensively while also being brave in attack.

“First and foremost, we have to be compact. On the other hand, we have to be brave. We have to fight for one another and when we win the ball, we have to have the courage to stretch them, impose ourselves through possession and be dangerous,” Bilić said.

“It has been like that every time. I expect us to be at that level tomorrow because only at that level can we expect something.”

Croatia forward Dion Drena Beljo, who scored against Spain in his first start for the national team, said they must do better.

“We weren’t at our best against Spain. We want to play like we did against Czechia, and that’s what we should look like against England. The team that faced Spain had never played together before,” Beljo said.

The match will take place at Stadion HNK Rijeka at 5pm Nigerian time on Saturday. UEFA marks this meeting as Matchday 3 of the Nations League League A Group A3.