England’s third match of the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League campaign against Croatia will be played behind closed doors on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Stadion HNK Rijeka. The fixture will be staged at the same venue where England previously played without spectators in 2018 after a swastika was marked on the pitch ahead of a Euro 2016 qualifier against Italy.
The decision follows crowd disturbances during Croatia’s Nations League quarterfinal with France in March 2025. Seven fans were arrested on suspicion of making Nazi salutes but were released without prosecution due to lack of evidence, and firecrackers were set off in a section of the stadium, according to the Associated Press.
Croatia received further sanctions that left the team without any away supporters for their Nations League opening match, a 2-1 victory over Czechia on Saturday. No Croatia fans will be present for the match in Rijeka as part of UEFA’s disciplinary measures.
Originally, no supporters were to be admitted for England’s trip to Croatia, but following discussions between England and UEFA a small delegation of traveling fans was permitted to attend. The official England Supporters Travel Club said it was granted 100 complimentary tickets to allocate to active 2026-2028 members for the fixture.
England entered the international break with a 3-2 home loss to world champions Spain and then secured a 2-0 win over Czechia three days later, with second-half goals from Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane. The results leave Thomas Tuchel’s side second in Group A3 with three points. Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
