Last updated Wednesday 3 June 2026. Updated after every Group L game.
Group L. Four nations. Six games. Three weeks from June 17 to June 27. England are in it alongside Croatia, Ghana and Panama. This page covers all four teams, all six fixtures, the venues, the qualification maths and what every possible result means for England’s path through.
ALL SIX GROUP L FIXTURES
The Panama game is listed as Panama vs England because of how the draw was made, not because Panama have any kind of home advantage. It is New Jersey. England are not travelling anywhere. The kick-off is 10pm rather than 9pm, worth knowing before you plan the Saturday.All six final round games on June 27 kick off simultaneously. Nobody knows what they need before the final whistle. That matters.
GROUP L STANDINGS
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
England
Tuchel
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
2
Croatia
Dalić · Modrić
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
3
Ghana
Hughton · Kudus
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
4
Panama
Christiansen
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
GROUP L RESULTS
THE THREE VENUES
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Dallas – England vs Croatia, June 17
Jerry Jones built AT&T Stadium for the Dallas Cowboys and it seats just over 100,000 people when it is full. England have never played a World Cup game in a building that size. Dallas in June sits somewhere between very hot and extremely hot depending on the day. The roof closes for games which keeps the temperature inside more manageable but does not make it England-in-June conditions. The players will know about it from the first warm-up.
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Boston – England vs Ghana, June 23
The New England Patriots play here forty minutes south of Boston in Foxborough. Holds about 65,000. Smaller than Dallas, different atmosphere, more open. Boston in late June is warm rather than extreme. England have played friendlies in the United States often enough that some of the squad will know roughly what to expect from this kind of environment.
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey – Panama vs England, June 27
Same venue as the World Cup final on July 19. Just across the Hudson from Manhattan. 82,000 capacity. England’s last group game is in the stadium where the tournament ends. Note the 10pm kick-off, later than the first two games. Worth knowing on a Saturday if you are planning around it.
HOW ENGLAND QUALIFY
Three teams per group this time rather than four. Top two go through automatically to the round of 32. Eight best third-placed finishers across all 16 groups also advance, so finishing third does not send you home automatically. But top two is what England need to be targeting and with Croatia, Ghana and Panama in the group they should do it.
Where England finish matters beyond just qualifying. Win Group L and the round of 32 opponent comes from the weaker end of the draw, a third-placed finisher from another group. Finish second and a group winner is waiting instead. Both routes are through but one is kinder.
If teams finish level on points it goes to goal difference first, then total goals scored across the whole group stage, then head-to-head, then fair play, then FIFA ranking. Scoring as many goals as possible in the comfortable games matters specifically because of the goal difference tiebreaker. Do not ease off at 2-0.
The specific scenarios:
Win all three: through as group winners.
Win two, draw one (7 points): through as group winners.
Win one, draw two (5 points): probably through, likely second.
Win one, lose two (3 points): needs other groups to produce poor third-place records. Tight.
The key moment: if England draw Croatia on June 17 the Ghana game on June 23 becomes must-win. If England beat Croatia and Croatia go on to beat Ghana in round two, England are effectively through before Panama.
CROATIA – WHO THEY ARE AND WHY THEY MATTER
for Modrić
age
by Livaković in 2022
The realistic test. The only side in Group L who can genuinely cause England problems and the opening game on June 17 sets the tone for everything that follows.
Modric at 40 years old is going to his fifth World Cup. The legs are not what they were in Russia in 2018 but the reading of the game is still there. He finds angles that do not look like angles. He receives in tight areas and plays forward before the press arrives. If Croatia get the ball in their own half without pressure Modric will use it and the game shifts in their direction. The answer to that is England’s press being organised and intense from the first minute.
The Gvardiol situation defines what Croatia look like defensively. He broke his leg at Manchester City late in the club season. He makes the squad. His fitness for June 17 is not publicly settled by Dalic. Gvardiol is the player Croatia’s entire defensive structure is built around. He steps out, he covers, he reads the second ball in a way that none of the other Croatian centre-backs available can replicate. Without him the defensive shape works differently. With him, even at 80 percent, Croatia are a tighter unit.
Kovacic is also returning from Achilles surgery. Two of their three most important players at uncertain fitness for the opener.
Livakovic in goal is excellent and was the goalkeeper who saved three penalties against Brazil in the 2022 World Cup quarter-final shootout. He is not a keeper England should expect to beat with a speculative effort from distance.
How they play: possession in their own half, build slowly, Modric sets the tempo, hit England on the counter when England push. Compact and organised, use the quality of Modric to move the ball quickly when England’s press gets stretched.
England beat Croatia 2-1 in the 2018 group stage. Croatia beat England 2-1 in the semi-final in extra time. Euro 2020, Sterling scored after five minutes and England held on. The recent competitive record goes mostly England’s way. Croatia without Gvardiol fit is not the 2018 team.
Prediction: England 2-0 Croatia
GHANA – WHO THEY ARE AND WHY THEY MATTER
goals 25/26
in starting XI
meeting
The second game and the one England should win most comfortably. Should not means will. The danger is treating Ghana as a fixture to manage through rather than a game to win properly and paying for it.
Kudus spent this season at West Ham being one of the more genuinely difficult individual players to deal with in the Premier League. The things he does in tight areas, the pace he brings, the way he arrives late into spaces that should not be there. He is not the most well-known name at this tournament but he is the player who makes Ghana threatening rather than just competitive. Get into the game early and England’s defensive line can deal with him. Let him settle in the first twenty minutes and the game becomes harder than it should be.
Semenyo from Bournemouth plays a similar disruptive role on the other side. Partey anchors the Ghana midfield. He has played most of his career in the Premier League and understands how pressing sides work because he has been part of one at Arsenal. He will try to play through or around England’s press.
How they play: medium block, allow England the ball in wide areas, Kudus and Semenyo to create from transition when England lose the ball high. Organisation and specific individual threats rather than dominant possession.
Get Bellingham on it early. Get Saka isolated against whoever Ghana put at right-back. Win the first ball in midfield and the game opens up from there. It should not be close.
Prediction: England 3-1 Ghana
PANAMA – WHO THEY ARE AND WHY THEY MATTER
in qualifying
group finish
2018 — ignore this
The last group game, later kick-off, New Jersey. Should be the most straightforward and will still require England to do the right things for ninety minutes rather than assume it resolves itself.
Panama topped their CONCACAF qualifying group without conceding. Christiansen has been building this team for two years and the defensive organisation is genuine. Not the 2018 Panama who lost all three games and conceded eleven goals including six to England. That squad and structure no longer exist.
Carrasquilla is their most creative player, operates in tight areas, capable of producing things in small spaces. Waterman is the other name worth knowing. Neither is the kind of player who wins international football matches individually but both create disruption when they get space in transition.
How they play: low block, keep their shape, make England break them down through patience rather than pace. The spaces are narrow. The game requires moving the ball quickly, drawing the shape out of position, and using penalty area delivery and set pieces as the primary route. The corner routine that scored seventeen Premier League goals for England this season does not disappear in New Jersey.
The 6-1 from 2018 should be ignored as a reference point. It tells you about the 2018 Panama, not this one.
Prediction: England 2-0 Panama
THE QUALIFICATION MATHS IN FULL
Seven points puts England through as group winners in almost any scenario.
Six points, two wins and a draw, probably through as group winners depending on Croatia’s results.
Four points, one win two draws, probably through as second or via third-place route. Depends on other groups.
Three points, one win and two losses, tight. England would need other groups to produce unusually poor third-place records.
What to watch in the other Group L games:
Ghana vs Panama on June 17 (same evening as England vs Croatia): if Panama win this, they have three points before the second round and the group becomes tighter. If Ghana win, Croatia’s path to qualification gets harder because Ghana could challenge them.
Croatia vs Panama on June 23 (same evening as England vs Ghana): Croatia are expected to win this. If they do not, their qualification gets complicated and England’s path becomes clearer.
Croatia vs Ghana on June 27 (simultaneous with Panama vs England): the decisive game for second place if both sides arrive in the final round with points. If England have won the first two games this result determines who joins them in the knockout rounds.
HOW TO WATCH FREE
Everything at this World Cup is free in the UK. All 104 games, no subscription anywhere.
ITV1: England vs Croatia (17 June), Panama vs England (27 June). Stream on ITVX. BBC One: England vs Ghana (23 June). Stream on BBC iPlayer. Other Group L games: ITV4 or BBC Two depending on scheduling.
For watching from outside the UK, the guide to football streaming sites covers every option.
For the complete England tournament guide covering the squad, key players and what happens after June 27, the England World Cup 2026 complete guide has everything else in one place