Group L is England's group. Thomas Tuchel took over from Gareth Southgate in early 2025, the first non-British manager of the England national team since Sven-Goran Eriksson left in 2006. Around Tuchel's England, Croatia arrive with what is widely considered the last competitive tournament for the Luka Modric generation that reached the 2018 World Cup final and the 2022 World Cup semi-final. Ghana return for their fourth World Cup with the Mohammed Kudus generation. Panama play their second World Cup, after their 2018 debut in Russia. Group L is the European-South-American free-for-all at the bottom half of the seeding.
England need to win this group with the comfort that confirms Tuchel's tactical revolution can translate to the World Cup. For Croatia it is the chance to confirm that the Modric-Brozovic-Kovacic golden generation is going out at the top. For Ghana it is the chance to surpass the 2010 quarter-final, which remains the African continent's joint-best World Cup result. For Panama it is the second World Cup and the goal of taking home a single competitive memory.
Group L runs from 17 June to 27 June. Each team plays the other three once. The top two qualify directly for the Round of 32 in the expanded 48-team format. The eight best third-placed finishers across the 12 groups also progress, meaning a competitive third place can still get a side into the knockouts. Detail on how that third-place ranking is calculated is in the 2026 World Cup format guide.
Thomas Tuchel took over from Gareth Southgate in January 2025 after the Euro 2024 final loss to Spain. The squad rotates between a 4-3-3 and a 3-4-2-1. Harry Kane at Bayern Munich captains the side. Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid is the central creative force. Bukayo Saka at Arsenal and Phil Foden at Manchester City provide the wide attacking spark. Declan Rice at Arsenal anchors midfield. John Stones at Manchester City and Marc Guehi at Crystal Palace (or his current club) at centre-back. Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back. Jordan Pickford in goal. The Tuchel tactical fingerprint is high pressing, vertical attacking and structural defensive organisation.
Zlatko Dalic is the head coach since 2017. Luka Modric at Real Madrid captains from a deep-lying midfield role at 40. Mateo Kovacic at Manchester City completes the midfield triangle. Marcelo Brozovic at Al-Nassr (or his current club). Andrej Kramaric at Hoffenheim leads the line. Bruno Petkovic provides depth. Josko Gvardiol at Manchester City at centre-back. Croatia's 2018 World Cup final and 2022 semi-final make them the most over-performing nation in modern World Cup history relative to FIFA ranking. The Modric generation is going out at the top, possibly in this tournament.
Otto Addo took over from Chris Hughton in 2024. Andre Ayew at his current club captains the side at 36. Mohammed Kudus at West Ham or his current club provides the wide attacking spark. Inaki Williams at Athletic Bilbao leads the line. Jordan Ayew provides depth. The Ayew brothers in the same forward line in 2026 is one of the rare brother-in-international-tournament moments. The 4-3-3 with Kudus on the right is the tactical identity. Ghana's 2010 World Cup quarter-final (when Suarez's handball denied Asamoah Gyan's penalty) remains the high point of African continental football.
Thomas Christiansen (the Danish-Spanish coach) took over Panama in 2024. The captain is Adalberto Carrasquilla at Pumas UNAM (or his current club). Cesar Blackman at his current club at left-back. Eduardo Guerrero leads the line. The 4-3-3 tactical system has been the qualifying-campaign constant. Panama's 2018 World Cup debut in Russia ended 0-3 vs Belgium, 1-6 vs England, 1-2 vs Tunisia. The current squad is on paper more competitive but the test will be the matchday 1 game against England.
All six fixtures with date, venue and a link to the full BetBot preview for each one. Every preview includes predicted lineups, captain profile, value tip, anytime goalscorer pick and tactical breakdown.
| Date | Match | Venue | Preview |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Jun | England vs Croatia | Arlington | Preview → |
| 17 Jun | Ghana vs Panama | Toronto | Preview → |
| 23 Jun | England vs Ghana | Foxborough | Preview → |
| 23 Jun | Panama vs Croatia | Toronto | Preview → |
| 27 Jun | Croatia vs Ghana | Philadelphia | Preview → |
| 27 Jun | Panama vs England | East Rutherford | Preview → |
Matchday 1 has England vs Croatia in Inglewood and Ghana vs Panama in Cincinnati. England vs Croatia is the marquee matchday 1 game of the group, the rematch of the 2018 World Cup semi-final (when England led 1-0 and Croatia won 2-1 in extra time) and the 2018 UEFA Nations League games. Bellingham against Modric in central midfield is the headline duel. England are favourites at 1.85. The value is over 2.5 goals at 1.85. Ghana vs Panama is the matchday 1 tactical chess match. Ghana are favourites at 1.65.
Matchday 2 has England vs Ghana in Foxborough and Panama vs Croatia in Philadelphia. England vs Ghana is the matchday 2 tactical battle. Kane against Inaki Williams is the centre-forward duel. The Bukayo Saka vs the Ghanaian left-back is the wide-attacker test. England are favourites at 1.45. Panama vs Croatia is the tactical chess match, with Modric against Carrasquilla in midfield. Croatia are favourites at 1.50.
Matchday 3 has England vs Panama in Inglewood and Croatia vs Ghana in Cincinnati. England vs Panama is the dead-rubber if England have already qualified. Croatia vs Ghana is the second-place qualifier in Cincinnati, the loser is out. Modric against Kudus is the headline matchup. The 1X2 market is one of the closer matchday 3 prices, around 2.30 / 3.10 / 3.20.
England to win Group L at 1.55 is the structural pick. The value is the England to win all three group games at 2.20 given the Croatia matchday 1 variable. Croatia to top the group at 4.50 is the second-pick value, which becomes plausible if England stumble against Croatia in matchday 1.
Second place is Croatia's at 1.85, with Ghana at 3.40 and Panama at 15.00. The decisive game is the matchday 3 head-to-head between Croatia and Ghana in Cincinnati.
Third place qualification is realistically Ghana's path if they lose to Croatia in matchday 3. Four points is the historical threshold and a win against Panama plus a draw against England or Croatia would deliver it. Panama third-place is essentially impossible at this level of opposition.
The eight best third-placed teams across the 12 groups all qualify for the Round of 32. The ranking is determined first by points, then goal difference, then goals scored, then disciplinary record. Four points has historically been enough in groups containing one dominant favourite, three points has been enough in groups with no dominant favourite. For Group L specifically, the realistic third-place threshold is four points.
Jude Bellingham vs Luka Modric in England vs Croatia is the matchday 1 headline, two of the greatest central midfielders of their respective generations. Harry Kane vs Josko Gvardiol is the centre-forward duel of matchday 1. Bukayo Saka vs the Croatian left-back is the wide-attacker test. Mohammed Kudus vs the English right-back in matchday 2 is the wide-attacker matchup that decides whether Ghana score.
SoFi Stadium Inglewood hosts England vs Croatia and England vs Panama, the two England games where they are the marquee fixture. Gillette Stadium Foxborough hosts England vs Ghana. TQL Stadium Cincinnati hosts Ghana vs Panama and Croatia vs Ghana. Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia hosts Panama vs Croatia in matchday 2.
Group L winner plays a Group K runner-up, likely Colombia. Group L runner-up plays a Group K winner, almost certainly Portugal. The bracket configuration means a England vs Portugal Round of 16 is plausible if both top their groups, the kind of European rivalry that goes back to the 1966 World Cup quarter-final.
The full bracket and how the third-place qualifiers slot into the knockout draw is at the 2026 World Cup knockout bracket page. Live bracket updates after each matchday will be at /world-cup-2026.
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