The draw came out in December and most people looked at it, nodded, and moved on. Croatia, Ghana, Panama. Could have been worse. Fine.
Wrong response. Croatia put England out of a World Cup seven years ago and Dalic has been building towards another one ever since. Ghana have Kudus and Semenyo, who England fans watch in the Premier League every weekend. Panama were unbeaten through most of 2025. Group L is winnable. It is not easy. For context on how England have fared against this level of opposition across the decades, our complete guide to England’s World Cup history and every England manager since 1966 ranked cover the full picture.
THE FIXTURES
Croatia first, June 17, 9pm BST, Dallas. Ghana on June 23, 9pm, Boston. Panama on June 27, 10pm, New Jersey. Base camp in Kansas City.
Win the first one and everything after it is a question of management. Lose it and suddenly Ghana on June 23 is a must-win, which is a very different game.
CROATIA
There is a generation of England fans who cannot hear “Croatia” without feeling something unpleasant. Moscow, 2018, extra time. Mario Mandzukic’s finish. Perisic’s leveller. The night England were closer to a World Cup final than they had been since 1966 and blew it. Dalic has had that squad through a final and a third-place finish since. He is not travelling to Dallas for a group-stage exit.
The preparation has been serious. Two weeks in Orlando before the tournament, sessions against Colombia and Brazil. He called England a “fantastic occasion.” That January quote tells you something about how long he has been thinking about this game.
Modric left Real Madrid last summer and is at AC Milan, which sounds like the end but isn’t. He is 40, he had facial surgery after a collision in April, and he is expected to be fit for the opener. The ability to pick a pass in half a yard of space, the delivery from dead balls, the capacity to turn a midfield around with one movement. Give Modric ten yards and a run off him and the goalkeeper is saving something. England’s job is to not give him ten yards, and Croatia’s job is to make sure he keeps getting it.
The fitness concerns are real though. Kovacic is coming back from Achilles surgery. Gvardiol broke his leg near the end of the season. Neither may be right on June 17. Croatia with both of them available is a better side than the one Dalic might have to work with.
Kramaric scored six qualifying goals and is still sharp at 34. Sucic is 23 and had a strong La Liga season, the midfielder who eventually takes over from Modric. Worth watching. Worth stopping.
Press high, get the ball wide quickly before Croatia’s shape sets, and make Modric defend rather than attack. Croatia’s full-backs behind their experienced wide players have space to exploit. England should find it early.
GHANA
Both of the players worth worrying about play in England every weekend.
Kudus at Tottenham. Scored twice at the 2022 World Cup. Good in tight spaces, always finding pockets, always looking to turn and go. The ball does not need to come to him on a plate. Give him a half-second in a half-turn near the box and something tends to happen.
Semenyo cost Manchester City £64m when they signed him from Bournemouth in January. He has been exceptional since. Quick, strong, comfortable with both feet. A right-back who has a quiet 90 minutes against him has had a good day at work. Livramento will earn his wages in Boston.
Partey anchors the midfield. Jordan Ayew captains the side and finished qualifying as top scorer on seven goals. Williams at Athletic Bilbao has barely missed a game for his club in years. Ghana went eight and one across the CAF qualifying group, Kudus scoring the goal against Comoros that took them through.
Queiroz is in charge now, took over from Otto Addo in March. He managed Portugal, Iran twice, Colombia, Egypt. He will not come to Boston without a gameplan and he has the attacking quality to hurt England in transition.
Sixteen years since the Suarez handball and Gyan’s crossbar in the quarter-final that should have been the semi-final. Ghana have not got past the group stage since and they know it. This squad is better equipped than the ones in between.
Score two in Boston and it is over. Stay at one and the second half gets genuinely nervy.
PANAMA
6-1 in Nizhny Novgorod in 2018. Panama’s first World Cup. They lost every game, let in 11 goals across the tournament, and left having scored twice. That was eight years ago and a different squad.
Christiansen built something. Twelve competitive matches unbeaten through most of 2025. Through the CONCACAF second qualifying round without conceding, four wins from four. They finished top of their final group.
Carrasquilla is the player who makes the midfield function. Technical, good delivery from set pieces, the one England need to press early. Murillo at right-back created more in qualifying than anyone else on the team. Waterman leads the line, wins headers, a problem at corners.
Panama have lost Gold Cup finals three times. They know how to compete for a long time at this level. The 2018 squad turned up grateful. This one has a point to make.
The plan in New Jersey will be a low block, make England break them down, and wait for a corner where Waterman and Godoy can do damage. England need a goal before half-time and then another one. One-nil at the interval is the game Panama want to play. Do not give them that game.
VERDICT ON THE GROUP
Croatia are the real test. Everything else depends on what happens in Dallas.
Win that opener and the group is under control. England go to Boston with confidence against a Ghana side who, despite their quality, have not managed the group stage of a World Cup since 2010. Then Panama in New Jersey, where a fit and firing England squad should win comfortably.
Lose to Croatia and the whole thing shifts. Ghana becomes a must-win in the heat, Panama suddenly has stakes it was never meant to have, and England arrive at the knockout rounds having scraped through rather than controlled the group.
Top Group L and the round of 32 is against a third-place team from one of five groups. Finish second and it is potentially the runner-up of Group K, which is where Portugal are.
The group is winnable. It starts June 17. Win in Dallas.
For the full squad breakdown heading into the tournament, including every position and who is fighting for a place on the plane, see our England World Cup 2026 squad prediction and the rest of our World Cup 2026 coverage.