2026 FIFA World Cup Group L
FIFA World Cup group
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Group L of the 2026 FIFA World Cup took place from June 17 to 27, 2026.[1] The group consisted of England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama.
England finished as group leaders, with Croatia finishing as runners-up after crucial victories against Panama and Ghana in their subsequent two group games. Both teams advanced to the round of 32.
Ghana finished in third place, and were able to advance as one of the top eight third-place teams. Panama were eliminated after losing two group games, and would go on to lose all three group games without scoring a goal.[2]
Teams
| Draw position | Team | Pot | Confederation | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Last appearance |
Previous best performance |
FIFA Rankings[3][4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025[nb 1] | June 2026 | |||||||||
| L1 |  England | 1 | UEFA | UEFA Group K winner | October 14, 2025 | 17th | 2022 | Winner (1966) | 4 | 4 |
| L2 |  Croatia | 2 | UEFA | UEFA Group L winner | November 14, 2025 | 7th | 2022 | Runner-up (2018) | 10 | 11 |
| L3 |  Ghana | 4 | CAF | CAF Group I winner | October 12, 2025 | 5th | 2022 | Quarterfinals (2010) | 72 | 73 |
| L4 |  Panama | 3 | CONCACAF | CONCACAF Group A winner | November 18, 2025 | 2nd | 2018 | Group stage (2018) | 30 | 34 |
Notes
- The rankings of November 2025 were used for seeding for the final draw.[5]
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Croatia |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | |
| 3 | Ghana |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Panama |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 |
In the round of 32:[2]
- The winner of Group L, England, advanced to play the third-place team of Group K, DR Congo.
- The runner-up of Group L, Croatia, advanced to play the runner-up of Group K, Portugal.
- The third-place team of Group L, Ghana, advanced to play the winner of Group K, Colombia, as one of the eight best third-place teams from the group stage.
Matches
All times listed are local.[1]
England vs Croatia
The teams had previously met in eleven previous matches, including a 2–1 semi-final win in 2018 for Croatia to advance to their first final.[6] Their most recent meeting was in the UEFA Euro 2020 group stage, with England winning 1–0.[7]
In the 12th minute, England were awarded a penalty after Luka Modric fouled Noni Madueke with a kick inside the penalty area. Harry Kane took the penalty which was saved down low to his left by Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković. The penalty had to be re-taken as Livaković was judged to have moved off his line before it was kicked, Kane again took the penalty and scored into the right of the net to put England into a 1–0 lead. In the 36th minute Martin Baturina made it 1–1 with a right foot shot to the top left corner of the net from outside the penalty area on the right which England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford got a hand to but couldn't prevent from going into the net. In the 42nd minute, England went back in front when Kane headed to the left of the net after making a run to meet a corner from the right by Declan Rice. With his second goal, Kane equalled Gary Lineker’s goals record for England at the World Cup with 10 goals.[8] Five minutes later it was 2–2 when Petar Musa fired to the net from the left inside the penalty area after a header back to him from Ivan Perišić.[9]
England went back in front, two minutes into the second half when Jude Bellingham received the ball on the right before cutting in and shooting right footed low to the left corner of the net from the right of the penalty area. It was 4–2 in the 85th minute when substitute Marcus Rashford received the ball on the left of the penalty area before cutting in on his right foot and shooting low to the right corner of the net.[10]
| England | 4–2 | Croatia |
|---|---|---|
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[Report 1] |
          England[11]
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    Croatia[11]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[11]
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Ghana vs Panama
The two teams had never met before.
In the 95th minute, Caleb Yirenkyi got the winning goal with a close range finish after a low cross by Brandon Thomas-Asante from the left, securing a 1–0 win and becoming the second-youngest player to score for Ghana at a World Cup behind Haminu Draman.[13][14] The 95th minute strike was also Ghana's latest ever goal scored in regulation time at a World Cup.[14]
| Ghana | 1–0 | Panama |
|---|---|---|
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[Report 2] |
     Ghana[15]
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     Panama[15]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[15]
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England vs Ghana
England had previously faced Ghana only once, a 1–1 friendly draw in 2011.[16]
In a game of few chances, in the 66th minute Jordan Pickford collided with Prince Kwabena Adu outside the penalty area with a free awarded to Pickford.[17]
In the 78th minute Ghana had a potential penalty not awarded, Ezri Konsa dived in to challenge Prince Kwabena Adu in the penalty area, bringing him down without making any contact with the ball.[18][19] Bukayo Saka had a low shot from the right saved by Ghana goalkeeper Benjamin Asare. Nico O'Reilly also headed against the bar from six yards out after a cross from Marcus Rashford from the right with Harry Kane shooting the rebound over the bar, with the match finishing 0–0.
| England | 0–0 | Ghana |
|---|---|---|
| [Report 3] |
 England[20]
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Ghana[20]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[20]
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Panama vs Croatia
The two teams had never met before.
Luka Modrić made his 200th appearance for Croatia in his fifth World Cup, becoming the fourth player to reach that number.
In the 54th minute, Ante Budimir scored the only goal of the game for Croatia when he finished at the back post from five yards out after a low cross from Josip Stanišić on the right.[21] With this defeat, Panama were eliminated from the tournament.
| Panama | 0–1 | Croatia |
|---|---|---|
| [Report 4] |
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     Panama[22]
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    Croatia[22]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[22]
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Panama vs England
The teams had only met once before, when England defeated debutant Panama 6–1 in a group stage match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[23]
| Panama | 0–2 | England |
|---|---|---|
| [Report 5] |
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     Panama[24]
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    England[24]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[24]
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Croatia vs Ghana
The two teams had never met before.
Croatia[25]
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Ghana[25]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[25]
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Discipline
The team conduct ("fair play") score would have been used as a tiebreaker if the head-to-head and overall records of teams were tied. It would also be used as a tiebreaker for the third-place ranking between groups if the overall records of teams were tied. The score was calculated based on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials in all group matches as follows:[2]
- yellow card: −1 point;
- indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
- direct red card: −4 points;
- yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
Only one of the above deductions could be applied to a player or team official in a single match.
