Croatia vs Belgium Prediction, Lineups, Betting Tips & Odds | International Friendly 2026

Two of Europe's most decorated underachievers. One stadium in Rijeka. Fifteen days before the World Cup starts.

You know the Belgium story by now. The golden generation. Eden Hazard. Vincent Kompany. Dembele and De Bruyne and Lukaku and the whole cast of players who were supposed to finally win something for the Red Devils, and instead delivered a group-stage exit in Qatar and a last-16 elimination at Euro 2024. Rudi Garcia came in, went unbeaten in eleven straight and scored 38 goals in the process, and nobody really knows what Belgium are yet because most of those goals came against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.

Croatia know exactly what they are. Two World Cup silvers. A bronze. A Nations League final. Dalic has been doing this for eight years with essentially the same group of ageing, technically gifted players who keep refusing to retire gracefully. Modric is 40 and four appearances away from two hundred caps. He had a broken cheekbone at the end of April playing for AC Milan against Juventus. He is still going to Rijeka and then to Virginia for the World Cup. At some point this man is going to have to stop playing football. Tuesday is not that day.

Croatia open against England on June 17 in Dallas. Belgium play Egypt in Group G around the same time. This friendly is the last real examination for both squads before the tournament begins.

• Head-to-head: Croatia 3 wins, Belgium 3 wins, 3 draws from 9 meetings

• Last meeting: 0-0 draw at the 2022 World Cup that sent Croatia through

• Croatia: One defeat in their last 10 internationals, a 3-1 loss to Brazil in March

• Croatia: Unbeaten across 7 wins and 1 draw in 2026 World Cup qualifying

• Croatia: Face England, Ghana and Panama in Group L

• Belgium: Unbeaten in their last 11 matches across all competitions

• Belgium: Scored 38 goals in that 11-game unbeaten run

• Belgium: Unbeaten in their last 4 meetings with Croatia

• Modric: Four appearances away from 200 Croatia caps at age 40

• Lukaku: Has not played since March due to a muscular injury, Fernandez-Pardo could start

• Trossard: Unlikely to feature so soon after the Champions League final

Croatia will use a back three with Gvardiol, Vuskovic and Pongracic forming the defensive foundation. Dalic confirmed this shape earlier in the week and it gives Croatia the defensive solidity they have built their entire tournament identity around. Modric captains from midfield alongside Kovacic, both of them 100-cap veterans playing in what is almost certainly their last World Cup. Kramaric has been nursing an adductor issue but Dalic has played it down and expects him to feature. Budimir leads the line. Baturina provides the creative spark behind him. Croatia will be compact, technical and genuinely difficult to break down.

Belgium cannot rely on Lukaku, which is a problem they have encountered before and always seem to find a way to ignore until it actually matters. Fernandez-Pardo could make his full international debut up front and the uncapped striker gets the chance to make a case for a World Cup role. De Bruyne is the one Belgium player who makes everything different when he is operating at his level and he has had a disrupted season at club level but showed glimpses of his best in March. Doku on the left is unplayable when he is flying and Croatia's right side will need to monitor him relentlessly. Tielemans and Witsel anchor the midfield with the kind of experience that this tournament will demand from Belgium.

Croatia (3-4-3)
Livakovic; Pongracic, Vuskovic, Gvardiol; Stanisic, Modric, M. Pasalic, Perisic; Kramaric, Baturina; Budimir

Belgium (4-2-3-1)
Courtois; Castagne, De Winter, Theate, De Cuyper; Tielemans, Witsel; Saelemaekers, De Bruyne, Doku; Fernandez-Pardo

Luka Modric - Four appearances from 200 caps for Croatia. Forty years old. Playing his final World Cup. The man is basically a walking museum exhibit at this point except the exhibit keeps setting up goals and breaking down pressing lines. If Croatia control Tuesday's game, it runs through him the same way it always has for the last fifteen years.

Kevin De Bruyne - Belgium's best player on his best day and the one who gives them a different quality in the spaces between Croatia's midfield and defence. He has not had the most consistent club season but these are the occasions De Bruyne tends to wake up for. One performance here reminds everyone why Belgium are still taken seriously at a World Cup.

Jeremy Doku - The most unpredictable player on the pitch. Croatia's right side with Stanisic at wing-back needs to handle Doku without giving him space to accelerate because once he is running at pace, the defensive shape breaks down very quickly. One moment of his quality could define this game entirely.

Luka Vuskovic - The Tottenham teenager who Dalic wants at centre back in a back three for the World Cup. Tuesday is a serious audition. Belgium's attack without Lukaku is different but still capable of causing problems and Vuskovic needs to show he can handle this level before the England game in Dallas. Every professional watch in Europe will be on him.

Prediction: Croatia Double Chance

Both teams have defensive quality and neither wants to concede going into a tournament. The last four meetings between these sides have produced just two goals combined. Belgium without Lukaku are a different attacking proposition and Fernandez-Pardo making his debut is not the same guaranteed threat. Croatia at home in Rijeka with Modric running the show are organised, disciplined and nearly impossible to break down when they want to be. A tight, low-scoring game is what the pattern of this fixture demands and that is what Tuesday will likely produce.