England lose O’Reilly before Nations League meeting with Croatia

England will be without Manchester City defender Nico O’Reilly for Saturday’s Nations League match against Croatia after he withdrew from the squad through injury. O’Reilly has returned to Manchester City and will also miss England’s subsequent fixture against Czechia. His departure adds to manager Thomas Tuchel’s defensive concerns before the League A Group A3 match in Rijeka.

England travel to Croatia after a 2-0 victory over Czechia. Captain Harry Kane is expected to lead the side, with UEFA reporting that Kane and Anthony Gordon have scored in both of England’s Nations League matches so far. Kane has scored 19 goals in his last 21 appearances for England, including two against Croatia during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

England’s attacking form provides a contrast to the uncertainty in defence. Tuchel said Ezri Konsa had returned to training and indicated that Marc Guehi was likely to start. “Nico O’Reilly has left the camp and we have competition on the right side,” the England manager said.

Reece James, Djed Spence and Ben White are also unavailable, while Tino Livramento withdrew through injury, according to UEFA’s match build-up. England had lost to Spain before beating Czechia, leaving them with three points from their opening two matches. Croatia also have three points.

They began with a win over Czechia but then suffered a 4-1 defeat by Spain. Tuchel described Croatia as a major football nation and expected a difficult match. Croatia coach Slaven Bilić said his team needed to defend compactly and show courage when in possession.

Forward Dion Drena Beljo, who scored against Spain in his first start for Croatia, said the team wanted to reproduce its performance against Czechia. The match is scheduled for 5pm Nigerian time at Stadion HNK Rijeka. UEFA lists it as Matchday 3 of Nations League League A Group A3.