2026 FIFA World Cup Group L: England and Croatia are the favorites to qualify for the Knockout Stage.

2026 World Cup Group L features a contest between four nations from two different continents: England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama. All focus falls on the group's opening fixture that will see England face off against Croatia.

This meeting between England and Croatia revives memories of the 2018 World Cup, when the two sides clashed in the Semi-Final stage in Russia. On that occasion, Croatia ended England's path to the final with a 2-1 extra time victory. That result made history for the Vatreni, who claimed their first ever World Cup runner-up title.

Eight years on from that iconic duel, England arrive with a clear new mission. The Three Lions aim to prove themselves as genuine title contenders, while finally Putting the bitter memory of their Moscow defeat behind them.

The 2026 World Cup will mark England's 17th tournament appearance, having first competed back in 1950. The founding nation of Football continues to chase a second world crown, having only lifted the trophy once before when they hosted the 1966 edition.

England head into the North American tournament with extremely strong momentum. They qualified for the finals with an unblemished record, winning all eight of their qualification matches to finish top of Group K.

This impressive form has reinforced England's status as one of the tournament favourites, despite the lingering disappointment of their 2022 World Cup exit, where they were eliminated in the Quarter-Final stage following a 1-2 defeat against France.

On the other side, Croatia once again arrive as a cohesive, resilient unit. The tournament hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico will be Croatia's seventh World Cup appearance, following their tournament debut in 1998.

Built on consistent performance over the past decade, Croatia remain a respected competitive force. They secured their finals place by topping qualification Group L with a near-perfect record: unbeaten throughout the campaign, with only one drawn match.

Meanwhile, Ghana carries the potential to disrupt the two group favourites. This West African nation will make their fifth World Cup appearance, after qualifying as winners of the African qualification Group I.

The Black Stars hold strong tournament pedigree. Their best World Cup run came in 2010, when they fell just one match short of the semi-finals before being knocked out by Uruguay.

Despite failing to advance past the group stage in the 2022 edition, Ghana still possess enough quality to produce upset results.

Panama complete the group line-up as the Central American representative. This will be their second ever World Cup appearance, following their debut at the 2018 Russia tournament.

Panama secured their finals place after a strong Concacaf qualification run, finishing as winners of Group A at the end of the third qualification round. Even as the lowest-ranked side in this group, Panama still hold realistic chances to pick up vital points.