England predicted XI vs. Croatia: Everton star could make first start as Konsa & Guéhi miss out

England welcome to Croatia to Wembley on Thursday evening knowing that a draw would be enough to guarantee the Three Lions’ progress to next year’s Nations League finals – but injury issues could make earning the necessary point a little harder.

England thrashed Croatia 7-0 during their first meeting in the league stage of the competition, but both of the centre-backs who started in that match, Marc Guéhi and Ezri Konsa, are now injured and will miss the return game.

With three players in the squad hoping to earn their first caps, Thomas Tuchel could name a much-changed side for Thursday’s match – so we’ve collected all of the latest England team news below, along with our prediction for the likely starting line-up at Wembley.

Konsa & Guéhi set to miss Croatia match

Manchester City’s Guéhi has withdrawn from the England squad – the only player to do so on this occasion – as the result of a hip injury which forced him from the field at half-time during his side’s shock 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening.

As it stands, it’s unclear how long Guéhi will be sidelined for, but he won’t play any part against Croatia or Spain on Sunday - but his defensive partner from England’s last meeting with Croatia, Arsenal centre-back Konsa, might yet have a role to play despite a fitness issue of his own.

Konsa has been officially ruled out of the game against Croatia on Thursday due to a knee injury which he aggravated against Hull City over the weekend, but is expected to return to training ahead of the Spain game. Dan Burn and James Hill have been called up as cover, with the Bournemouth defender in line to make his debut at some stage over the next few days.

With Tuchel now missing his first-choice defensive pairing for the Croatia match, he is likely to hand a first England start to Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, a member of the original squad, while Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah could play alongside him with Ben White and Trent Alexander-Arnold seemingly set to compete for the right-back spot.

Will Jobe Bellingham make his England debut – and could Trafford start in goal?

Alongside Hill, the other two prospective debutants are 21-year-old Jobe Bellingham and goalkeeper Jason Steele, with the former the more likely to get a start on Thursday evening – but with both Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson fit, the Borussia Dortmund midfielder may have to wait a little longer for his first cap.

Steele, meanwhile, is expected to spend the next two games on the bench while James Trafford and Jordan Pickford compete for a starting place between the sticks. Tuchel has told the media that Pickford remains his number one, but that Trafford will get another chance to impress during the current international break. The Leeds man could start both matches.

Elsewhere, Tuchel’s selection headaches include whether to continue experimenting with Morgan Rogers on the right wing in the absence of Bukayo Saka, who is sidelined with a thigh injury, and whether to select Lewis Hall or the returning Djed Spence at left-back.

Harry Kane, who will pass Peter Shilton to become the most-capped men’s player in England history, is expected to start as he breaks that record and celebrates his Ballon d’Or victory in front of the Wembley crowd.

England predicted line-up vs. Croatia (4-2-3-1): Trafford; Hall, Branthwaite, Quansah, Alexander-Arnold; Rice, Anderson; Gordon, Jude Bellingham, Rogers; Kane.