Adam Lallana has been in the England shirt when the opening whistle of a major tournament felt more like a warning siren. He’s lived through the slow bleed of a loss in the Amazon and the gut-punch of a last-gasp equalizer against a team nobody feared. So when he says England has to beat Croatia on Day One, he’s not guessing.
The former midfielder was part of two England sides that failed to win their tournament openers — and both campaigns unraveled quickly after that. In 2014, England fell 2-1 to Italy in the suffocating humidity of Manaus. They were eliminated from the World Cup six days later. Two years after that, a 1-1 draw with Russia in Marseille — courtesy of a stoppage-time equalizer for the Group B underdogs — set the stage for a humiliating round-of-16 exit to Iceland.
“It’s about getting some momentum,” Lallana told the Evening Standard. “We did in Russia against Tunisia, and then beating Panama after. I agree that you need to gain momentum early. You need to get an early goal, get your No. 9 a goal early in the tournament, get your players playing well.”
Thomas Tuchel’s England opens its 2026 World Cup campaign against Croatia in Arlington, Texas. Lallana, who earned 34 caps and scored three goals during his five years with the national team, sees this as a defining moment.
“It is going to be tough. Modric will be out there — the old wizard,” Lallana said. “It is important to win that opener. Really important.”
The stakes are clear: a win builds belief. A draw or loss plants doubt — the kind that has historically snowballed for England teams that stumbled out of the gate.
Lallana, who played as a No. 10 and across both wings during his international career, pointed out that modern squad depth changes the tactical calculus. With 26 players allowed, managers don’t have to force versatile players into uncomfortable roles the way they did with 23-man rosters.
“It’s always handy to be versatile,” he said. “Having 26 players has allowed England to have a couple of players per position. You don’t always need your No. 10 to play on the left and the right anymore.”
When asked who he sees as favorites, Lallana pointed to Argentina — the reigning champions playing on American soil — and France. He put England in the underdog category, and he didn’t say that like it was a bad thing.
“England are underdogs, but that’s not a bad thing to be,” he said.
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