England travel to Croatia this weekend in the latest chapter of one of international football’s most played-out rivalries in recent times.
From stopping England from reaching Euro 2008 to knocking them out of the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, Croatia have dealt some serious blows in this fixture over the years.
Of course, the Three Lions have enjoyed their moments—not least beating them 4-2 at the World Cup this summer.
One of the standout Three Lions moments against the Blazers came the last time they met in the Uefa Nations League in 2018. Mere months after their heartbreak in Russia, late Jesse Lingard and Harry Kane strikes secured a dramatic 2-1 comeback win at Wembley.
That result sent England to the inaugural Nations League finals, while Croatia were relegated to League B. Both nations have continued to experience success since.
England’s line-up nowadays looks very different. With that in mind, we’ve taken a look at what happened next to the players who helped the Three Lions beat Croatia at Wembley back in November 2018.
England 2-1 Croatia: 18 November, 2018
GK: Jordan Pickford
- England caps: 91
- Current club: Everton
Jordan Pickford fully established himself as England No.1 with his 2018 World Cup heroics and he came into this match having played a key role in the Three Lions’ landmark 3-2 win in Spain. The former Sunderland man made two saves in this match to help Gareth Southgate‘s men stay in touch, setting the stage for the late comeback.
Pickford — who is still with Everton and has been instrumental in protecting their Premier League status over the years — is second only to Peter Shilton (66) for clean sheets for England (47) and is their 13th most-capped player of all time. He has spent the last eight years as the undisputed starter, but now faces competition from James Trafford.
RB: Kyle Walker
- England caps: 96
- Current club: Burnley
Kyle Walker is one of just three active players to be capped more for England than Pickford, with the two among the Three Lions’ biggest stalwarts during this period. The Sheffield United academy product went on to captain his country on numerous occasions and remained a key figure until midway through last year, reaching two Euros finals along the way. However, his last cap came in that infamous 3-1 friendly defeat against Senegal early into Thomas Tuchel‘s reign.
At club level, Walker won it all with Man City before joining Burnley last year, following a short loan spell with AC Milan. The Clarets were relegated from the Premier League in his first campaign at Turf Moor and are currently bottom of the Championship and winless. There’s little chance of him getting the caps he needs to make a century.
CB: Joe Gomez
- England caps: 15
- Current club: Liverpool
Despite his undoubted talent, Joe Gomez has never quite been able to establish himself at club or international level, thanks to numerous recurring injuries. Now 29, he has just 15 England caps to his name, the last coming just before Euro 2024, a tournament in which he remained an unused substitute.
He remains at Liverpool and has made almost 300 appearances for the Reds, winning two Premier League titles and a Champions League, among other honours. However, those aforementioned injuries have stopped him becoming an undisputed starter, and it’s hard to see him adding to his 15 caps.
CB: John Stones
- England caps: 94
- Current club: Inter
Given what he’s achieved with his nation, John Stones has a very strong case for being England’s second-best centre-back of all time, only behind Bobby Moore.
The former Barnsley youngster has been right at the core of everything the Three Lions have done well over the last eight years, still going strong in their run to the 2026 World Cup semi-finals this summer with five appearances.
Stones played alongside Walker for club and country all the way, before leaving for Italian giants Inter over the summer.
LB: Ben Chilwell
- England caps: 21
- Current club: Crystal Palace
Ben Chilwell felt like the natural choice to become England’s next starting left-back around this period, but, like Gomez, injuries have held him back. He joined Chelsea in 2020 and spent four years at Stamford Bridge, winning a Champions League title along the way, but never managed to make the left-back spot his own.
Chilwell is back at Crystal Palace, where he spent time on loan during the 2024/25 campaign, having made 34 appearances for Strasbourg last season. His last cap for England came back in March 2024.
CM: Ross Barkley
- England caps: 33
- Current club: Aston Villa
Ross Barkley was hailed as England’s next Paul Gascoigne when he was coming through at Everton under David Moyes and Roberto Martinez. He’s never quite reached those heights, but has forged a solid career for himself, winning major trophies at Chelsea and Aston Villa, with spells at Luton Town and Nice along the way.
Barkley has a respectable record of six goals in 33 caps for England, but hasn’t featured in a major tournament for the Three Lions since their ill-fated 2014 World Cup campaign — or at all since 2019. It’s unlikely he’ll add to his caps at this stage, given the sheer quality England have in the engine room nowadays.
CM: Eric Dier
- England caps: 49
- Current club: Monaco
Eric Dier had already established himself as an England cult hero for scoring the winning penalty in that memorable shootout victory over Colombia at the 2018 World Cup. He continued to be a regular figure for the Three Lions right up until the end of 2022, with the last of his 49 caps coming from the bench in the 3-0 win over Senegal in the World Cup last 16.
Dier’s club career path is among the strangest. A player who came through at Sporting CP and had an unremarkable loan with Everton’s youth team, he left Tottenham for Bayern Munich on loan in January 2024, with the Bavarians even going on to make the deal permanent. The versatile 32-year-old — who can play as a centre-back or midfielder — then joined Monaco in the summer of 2025, where he remains.
CM: Fabian Delph
- England caps: 20
- Current club: Retired
Like a few others in this side, Fabian Delph was an obviously talented footballer who was long held back by injuries.
The former Leeds man enjoyed some highs, winning two Premier League titles with Man City having reached an FA Cup final with Aston Villa. But his club career really faded out with just 41 appearances across three years at Everton, before retiring in 2022.
Delph certainly rode some highs during his short international career, too, with the peaks undoubtedly being the run to the 2018 World Cup semi-final — where he made four appearances — and finishing third in the 2018/19 Nations League.
RW: Raheem Sterling
- England caps: 82
- Current club: Free agent
Raheem Sterling was hitting top form for Man City heading into the 2018 World Cup, where he became a central figure in Gareth Southgate’s setup. Yet, the pressure was firmly on him as this Nations League campaign progressed, after a long goal drought.
A brace in the 3-2 win in Spain silenced the doubters, and he went from strength to strength from there. Sterling eventually reached 20 goals in 82 caps for the Three Lions — including three crucial strikes during the run to the Euro 2020 final — before making his final international appearance in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final defeat against France.
A legend at Man City, Sterling’s career has faltered since departing the Etihad in 2022. A lukewarm two-year stint at Chelsea was followed by a quiet loan spell at Arsenal and a forgettable eight-game stint with Feyenoord. He is now a free agent amid ongoing off-pitch issues.
ST: Harry Kane
- England caps: 123
- Current club: Bayern Munich
Just as he was in 2018, Harry Kane remains one of England’s unquestioned stars, extending his national team-record goal tally with recent strikes against Spain and the Czech Republic.
The former Tottenham striker — who is now a two-time Bundesliga champion with Bayern Munich — is sitting pretty with 87 goals in 123 caps, one of which decided this dramatic clash at Wembley. Kane also has Golden Boots to his name at the World Cup and European Championship.
Kane has been unstoppable since joining Bayern in 2023, hitting 152 goals in 154 games across all competitions, and is the current odds-on favourite to win the Ballon d’Or award, following a summer where he scored six times to help England to the World Cup semi-finals.
LW: Marcus Rashford
- England caps: 78
- Current club: Manchester United
Marcus Rashford’s career, for both club and country, has been defined by extreme highs and lows. The explosive attacker has registered 19 goals in 78 international appearances so far. Having earned just a single cap in 2024, he fought his way back into the setup to feature at the 2026 World Cup — adding to the two goals he netted at the 2022 tournament in Qatar. He sits alongside Kane and Pickford among the few players from this match who are still regulars for England.
That same inconsistency has marked his time at Old Trafford. After a stellar 30-goal campaign in 2022/23, Rashford saw his opportunities limited at Man Utd. A strong loan spell with Aston Villa in the second half of 2024/25 was followed by a fruitful 14-goal season on loan at Barcelona. Now back at his parent club, he has re-established himself as a starter under Michael Carrick.
Sub 1: Dele Alli
- England caps: 37
- Current club: Free agent
The fall of Dele Alli‘s career is one of the saddest stories in English football’s recent history. Around the time of this match, he was fresh from playing a key role in the Three Lions reaching the World Cup semi-finals — scoring against Sweden in the quarter-finals — and firing for Tottenham alongside Kane.
Injuries and off-field issues have played their part since, with failed spells with Everton, Besiktas and Como time-stamping his downfall. Alli is now 30 years old, and while he hasn’t officially retired, he’s been without a club since leaving Como in the summer of 2025.
Sub 2: Jadon Sancho
- England caps: 23
- Current club: Free agent
Jadon Sancho is the most high-profile player on the free agent market right now and it’s remarkable to think that he’s heading into October without a club.
Sancho spent years tearing Germany apart with Dortmund, but his big move to Manchester United in 2021 proved to be a mistake. Even so, Sancho has enjoyed productive loans back at Dortmund, with Chelsea and, most recently, Aston Villa — winning the Europa League with the latter.
At international level, this match was just his third appearance for England, while the last of Sancho’s 23 caps came back in 2021, shortly after helping Gareth Southgate’s side to the European Championship final.
Sub 3: Jesse Lingard
- England caps: 32
- Current club: Corinthians
Jesse Lingard’s partnership with Alli in midfield was key for England at the 2018 World Cup, and he continued to be a regular right through until 2021 — his final cap coming in a 5-0 World Cup qualifying win over Andorra. Of course, Lingard scored the equaliser in this win over Croatia, which was probably his most important international goal.
Lingard continued on at Man Utd for a while after this match before falling out of favour. He enjoyed an excellent loan at West Ham in the second half of 2020/21, scoring nine goals in 16 appearances. That proved to be a temporary renaissance, however, with the midfielder then failing to make an impression at Nottingham Forest the following campaign.
Since leaving the City Ground, Lingard has scored 19 goals in 67 appearances for FC Seoul and is now, surprisingly, in Brazil with Corinthians.
Unused subs: Alex McCarthy (Leicester City), Jack Butland (Hull City), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), Michael Keane (Everton), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (AC Milan), Harry Winks (Cagliari), Callum Wilson (Brentford).