2026 FIFA World Cup Group L

Last updated

Group L of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place from June 17 to 27, 2026. [1] The group consists of England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama. The top two teams, possibly along with the third-placed team, will advance to the round of 32. [2]

Contents

Teams

Draw positionTeamPotConfederationMethod of
qualification		Date of
qualification		Finals
appearance		Last
appearance		Previous best
performance		 FIFA Rankings [3]
November 2025 [nb 1] June 2026
L1Flag of England.svg  England 1 UEFA UEFA Group K winnerOctober 14, 202517th 2022 Winner (1966)4
L2Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 2 UEFA UEFA Group L winnerNovember 14, 20257th 2022 Runner-up (2018)10
L3Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 4 CAF CAF Group I winnerOctober 12, 20255th 2022 Quarterfinals (2010)72
L4Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 3 CONCACAF CONCACAF Group A winnerNovember 18, 20252nd 2018 Group stage (2018)30

Notes

  1. ↑ The rankings of November 2025 were used for seeding for the final draw. [4]

Standings

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of England.svg  England 00000000Advance to knockout stage
2Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 00000000
3Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 00000000Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 00000000
First match(es) will be played: June 17, 2026. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

In the round of 32: [2]

Matches

All times listed are local. [1]

England vs Croatia

The teams have previously met in eleven previous matches, including a 2–1 semi-final win in 2018 for Croatia to advance to their first ever final. [5] Their most recent meeting was in the UEFA Euro 2020 group stage, with England winning 1–0. [6]

England  Flag of England.svgMatch 21Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
AT&T Stadium, Arlington

Ghana vs Panama

Both sides have never met before.

Ghana  Flag of Ghana.svgMatch 22Flag of Panama.svg  Panama
BMO Field, Toronto

England vs Ghana

England has faced Ghana previously only once, a 1–1 friendly draw in 2011. [7]

England  Flag of England.svgMatch 45Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough

Panama vs Croatia

The teams have never faced each other before.

Panama  Flag of Panama.svgMatch 46Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia
BMO Field, Toronto

Panama vs England

These teams have only met once prior, when England defeated debutant Panama 6–1 in a group stage match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. [8]

Panama  Flag of Panama.svgMatch 67Flag of England.svg  England
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford

Croatia vs Ghana

This will be both teams' first meeting.

Croatia  Flag of Croatia.svgMatch 68Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Discipline

The team conduct ("fair play") score will be used as a tiebreaker if the head-to-head and overall records of teams are tied. It will also be used as a tiebreaker for the third-place ranking between groups if the overall records of teams are tied. The score will be calculated based on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials in all group matches as follows: [2]

Only one of the above deductions can be applied to a player or team official in a single match.

TeamMatch 1Match 2Match 3Score
Yellow card.svgYellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svgRed card.svgYellow card.svg Red card.svgYellow card.svgYellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svgRed card.svgYellow card.svg Red card.svgYellow card.svgYellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svgRed card.svgYellow card.svg Red card.svg
Flag of England.svg  England 0
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 0
Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 0
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 0

References

  1. 1 2 "FIFA World Cup 26 – Match Schedule" (PDF). FIFA. February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "FIFA World Cup 2026 Regulations" (PDF). FIFA. May 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 23, 2025. Retrieved June 7, 2025.
  3. ↑ "FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. November 19, 2025. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Draw Procedures for the FIFA World Cup 2026" (PDF). FIFA. November 25, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  5. ↑ "England vs. Croatia Head-to-Head in the World Cups". thesoccerworldcups.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  6. ↑ "England national football team: record v Croatia". 11v11.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  7. ↑ "England national football team: record v Ghana". 11v11.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Panama national football team: record v England". 11v11.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
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