England to play Croatia behind closed doors in Rijeka again

England will face Croatia behind closed doors in Rijeka in the Nations League. No general crowd. No full away end. The game will go ahead with only a small audience of Croatian schoolchildren and 100 England supporters in the ground, according to BBC Sport.

The decision means Rijeka will stage the same fixture under the same conditions for the second time. It will feel very different from a normal away night.

The Nations League is UEFA's tournament that turned many friendlies into competitive matches, with groups, promotion and relegation. It matters for ranking and pride, and it often delivers tight games between big nations. Behind closed doors means no tickets for the general public.

Croatia are serving a punishment for crowd disturbances during their Nations League match against France in March 2025. Their supporters set off fireworks in the away section at the Stade de France in Paris. Seven Croatia fans were taken into custody on suspicion of making Nazi salutes at that match and were later released without prosecution due to lack of evidence.

The sanction has already bitten elsewhere. Croatia had to play without any travelling supporters for their 2-1 win in the Czech Republic.

Rijeka will not be completely empty. Between 3,000 and 6,000 Croatian schoolchildren have been allowed to attend despite the closure. England fans were first told they could not travel at all, then were given 100 complimentary tickets after discussions with UEFA.

There is a strong sense of repetition here. England and Croatia drew 0-0 behind closed doors at the same Rijeka stadium in October 2018. That match was a League A, Group 4 fixture in the first staging of the competition, according to The FA.

UEFA had ordered that first away game to be played without a crowd. Croatia were then completing a stadium ban imposed after a swastika was marked on their pitch.

For fans picking this up on a phone, expect a strange watch. International football feeds off noise, and there will be almost none of it. What makes this stand out is the setting for a heavyweight tie, played in near silence, with children making most of the sound.

England and Croatia keep meeting in games that linger in the memory. This one will be remembered for the quiet as much as the football.