by Craig Laycock
Original article:
Group L Preview
England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
World Rankings:
England 4th
Croatia 11th
Panama 33rd
Ghana 74th
GROUP STRENGTH
On paper, England will fancy their chances in a group that should suit them. But the reappearance of Croatia, who beat England in the 2018 semi-finals, will trigger some memories.
Some readers may be surprised to see Ghana down in 74th place. That makes them the 4th weakest side at the World Cup despite being a whisker away from becoming World Cup semi-finalists back in 2010.
Panama sit at an interesting point, adrift in the ratings from England and Croatia but comfortably clear of Ghana suggesting they could stake a claim to 3rd place if they have things their own way. Of course, tournament football rarely works like that…
***
England
England absolutely blasted through qualifying, with 8 wins from 8 games, 22 goals scored and not a single goal conceded against Albania, Serbia, Latvia and Andorra.
While they will face sterner tests in the USA, it’s nevertheless a positive sign that things have been clicking under Thomas Tuchel, who has been hired by the FA with the express goal of winning the World Cup.
Where Gareth Southgate laid down the foundations of England working together as a collective, Tuchel’s all about driving that home and finally delivering silverware for England for the first time since 1966. But after what is now “60 years of hurt”, can they pull it off or will they falter in the latter stages yet again?
And will Tuchel be able to defend leaving big names like Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold at home?
Will Tuchel get his own West End play too?
Play style:
England are likely to play a back four, with the double pivot of Rice and Anderson in front of O’Reilly, Guehi, Stones and James. Bellingham or Morgan Rogers will likely sit in the number 10 behind the talismanic Kane. Meanwhile, the devastating play-stretchers Gordon and Saka will sit in wide areas and relentlessly run at defences.
This is a side with defensive steel, extreme midfield ability, explosive wide pace, great final third movement and a total footballer in Kane up front at his absolute peak, who has scored an incredible 61 goals in all competitions this season.
His performances will be key, and when opposition defences try to mark him they will likely pull themselves out of shape to allow the marauding Gordon and Saka to get in behind and find the box-crashing number 10s. The left and right backs can also push up with Tuchel’s trademark fluidity and flexibility and overload the opposition regardless of who they play.
If it works, it’s going to be deadly.
Expected formation:
A 4-2-3-1, varying into 3-2-5 or 2-3-5 depending on who they’re up against and phases of play. Very fluid and flexible and very difficult to defend against, with elite technicians able to pull it off, underlined by their credentials at top clubs.
Chances:
One blot on their record of late was losing to Senegal in a recent friendly, but when the tournament kicks off you would expect England to find their qualification form and breeze through this group.
If they get a favourable draw, they could go all the way to the semi-finals, final, or even win the competition. They have elite technicality, an aggressive play style, tactical flexibility and the tournament steel of having recently appeared in the 2018 World Cup semi finals, the final of Euro 2020 (which they lost on penalties) and the final of Euro 2024.
***
Croatia
Croatia are another side who enter the tournament with a great qualification record, having won 7 and drawn 1 of their 8 qualifying games. Although some of those results were against relatively weaker opposition like the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar, they nevertheless finished 6 points clear of Czechia to dominate the group, with Andrej Kramarić scoring 6 goals and Ivan Perišić bagging 4 along the way.
After following up their 2018 World Cup final appearance with a 2022 3rd place, can they really be discounted as a top tournament side? Any side with Luka Modrić in it has to be feared. Josko Gvardiol makes it in after recovering from a nasty injury, and will also likely be key to their chances of success.
Manager Zlatko Dalić is considered a man-management legend, and has the complete respect of the side.
Play style:
Typically confident and possession-heavy, Croatia are also a bit of a swiss army knife. As you would expect, they like to use the midfield quality of Luka Modrić, who has typically been played in a slightly higher role to manage his fitness, operating in and around the number 10 area.
He still pulls the strings in attack, while the double pivot act as a shield in front of the back four. Against low blocks they will push their fullbacks high and create passing triangles in the wide areas.
They’re very adaptable to wherever they spot defensive weaknesses in the opposition, so expect them to probe and press, find weaknesses and then quickly look to exploit them. If the weakness closes up, they’ll rotate and find another until they get a breakthrough goal.
But they are susceptible to quick counters. Saka and Gordon could cause nightmares for them, especially as the core squad of Croatia is now aging (Modrić is 40).
Expected formation:
4-2-3-1, changing shape to a 3-2-5 to exploit wide areas in possession.
Chances:
You would expect them to finish 2nd. Could they cause an upset against England? We’ll find out in this group’s opening game on June 17th in Dallas. You would expect England to be well-prepared and capable of beating Croatia, but we’ve heard that said before.
***
Panama
This is Panama’s second World Cup, and the second in which they’ll face England at the group stage. Their last appearance in 2018 saw them finish bottom of Group G with 0 points and a -9 goal difference. But will things be better this time around?
They qualified for the 2026 World Cup with relative ease, helped by the absence of the automatically-qualified USA, Mexico and Canada from their CONCACAF campaign. Facing up against Nicaragua, Guyana, Montserrat and Belize, they topped their group, before doing so again against Suriname, Guatemala and El Salvador in the third round to seal their berth.
You might be wondering how they will fare against top opposition, and we did get a sneak peek at that when they faced Brazil prior to the tournament. They were demolished 6-2 and aside from an own goal and a late consolation (which was some strike, to be fair), they looked unable to resist the might of Brazil’s top attacking talent.
England and Croatia will like what they saw.
Play style:
They like to play with a patient style somewhat akin to tika-taka, with a back three of ball playing centre backs, supported by wider wing backs who like to play high but can drop deeper to support, relying on the athleticism of Amir Murillo and Eric Davis to make it work.
They play a double pivot and inverted wingers who like to tuck inside and create narrow overloads and vertical passing lanes.
Manager Thomas Christiansen likes to control the tempo and hold possession, but they may have been lulled into a false sense of security by relatively weak regional opposition that hasn’t tested them as much as they may be tested at the 2026 World Cup.
They can find themselves getting pinned too deep by top sides, as we saw in their friendly against Brazil, and they also lack the composed finishing of some elite sides in the competition.
Expected formation:
3-4-3, becoming a 5-4-1 or 4-5-1 under pressure.
Chances:
I think they’re going to struggle at the 2026 World Cup and it’ll be a shoot out for last place with Ghana in the group stage. I think Ghana might end up having the edge over them and Panama will be going home, maybe with 0 points again.
***
Ghana
Some will be surprised to see quite how far Ghana seem to have fallen down the world rankings from their 2010 heights, when they were denied a semi-final berth only by the shithousery of Luis Suarez.
In fact, even before that, they occasionally breached the top 25 of the rankings. In recent years, that quality has faded away and Ghana have been on something of a slide.
Source: FIFA Men’s Rankings
But this new-look Ghana has a determination about them that has expressed itself throughout the build up to the tournament. Topping their group in CAF qualifying, finishing 6 points clear of Madagascar, and ahead of Mali, Comoros, Central African Republic and Chad, they looked confident along the way - winning 8, drawing 1 and losing just one away game to Comoros along the way.
Will they be able to trouble England and Croatia? Probably not. But we think they could cause problems for Panama.
Play style:
Under Carlos Queiroz, Ghana have talked in recent days about a need to adapt to his style of play. Slightly worrying this close to the tournament, but the core principles of how they play will be safety first, with lightning transitions where they are able to launch them.
Queiroz likes to build around the strengths of the team - robust defending, aerial and physical pressure, and then they will rely on direct, vertical counter-attacks and second balls.
They’ll likely line up in a very defensive style against England and Croatia and sit in a very low block to grind out results. Whether they’ll be able to stop the likes of Modric and Saka though is another question.
Against Panama, you would expect them to play more on the front foot and look to exploit space. Thomas Partey will be key to pushing forwards and setting the tempo, and you’ll see the full backs marauding forwards much more than you will against England or Croatia.
Expected formation:
4-1-4-1 or 4-5-1, no-nonsense football.
Chances:
Two draws against England and Croatia and a win against Panama might be enough to squeeze them into 3rd place and a shot at being one of the 8 third-placed finishing teams that qualify for the Round of 32 on merit. But they’ll be hard-pushed to get anything from England or Croatia and they’ll likely have to cross their fingers and hope they can get a good result against Panama.
The Tournament Scout’s Prediction
England to win the group
Croatia 2nd
Ghana pip Panama to 3rd
Panama down and out in 4th
22 min read
Group L Preview
England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
World Rankings:
England 4th
Croatia 11th
Panama 33rd
Ghana 74th
GROUP STRENGTH
On paper, England will fancy their chances in a group that should suit them. But the reappearance of Croatia, who beat England in the 2018 semi-finals, will trigger some memories.
Some readers may be surprised to see Ghana down in 74th place. That makes them the 4th weakest side at the World Cup despite being a whisker away from becoming World Cup semi-finalists back in 2010.
Panama sit at an interesting point, adrift in the ratings from England and Croatia but comfortably clear of Ghana suggesting they could stake a claim to 3rd place if they have things their own way. Of course, tournament football rarely works like that…
***
England
England absolutely blasted through qualifying, with 8 wins from 8 games, 22 goals scored and not a single goal conceded against Albania, Serbia, Latvia and Andorra.
While they will face sterner tests in the USA, it’s nevertheless a positive sign that things have been clicking under Thomas Tuchel, who has been hired by the FA with the express goal of winning the World Cup.
Where Gareth Southgate laid down the foundations of England working together as a collective, Tuchel’s all about driving that home and finally delivering silverware for England for the first time since 1966. But after what is now “60 years of hurt”, can they pull it off or will they falter in the latter stages yet again?
And will Tuchel be able to defend leaving big names like Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold at home?
Will Tuchel get his own West End play too?
Play style:
England are likely to play a back four, with the double pivot of Rice and Anderson in front of O’Reilly, Guehi, Stones and James. Bellingham or Morgan Rogers will likely sit in the number 10 behind the talismanic Kane. Meanwhile, the devastating play-stretchers Gordon and Saka will sit in wide areas and relentlessly run at defences.
This is a side with defensive steel, extreme midfield ability, explosive wide pace, great final third movement and a total footballer in Kane up front at his absolute peak, who has scored an incredible 61 goals in all competitions this season.
His performances will be key, and when opposition defences try to mark him they will likely pull themselves out of shape to allow the marauding Gordon and Saka to get in behind and find the box-crashing number 10s. The left and right backs can also push up with Tuchel’s trademark fluidity and flexibility and overload the opposition regardless of who they play.
If it works, it’s going to be deadly.
Expected formation:
A 4-2-3-1, varying into 3-2-5 or 2-3-5 depending on who they’re up against and phases of play. Very fluid and flexible and very difficult to defend against, with elite technicians able to pull it off, underlined by their credentials at top clubs.
Chances:
One blot on their record of late was losing to Senegal in a recent friendly, but when the tournament kicks off you would expect England to find their qualification form and breeze through this group.
If they get a favourable draw, they could go all the way to the semi-finals, final, or even win the competition. They have elite technicality, an aggressive play style, tactical flexibility and the tournament steel of having recently appeared in the 2018 World Cup semi finals, the final of Euro 2020 (which they lost on penalties) and the final of Euro 2024.
***
Croatia
Croatia are another side who enter the tournament with a great qualification record, having won 7 and drawn 1 of their 8 qualifying games. Although some of those results were against relatively weaker opposition like the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar, they nevertheless finished 6 points clear of Czechia to dominate the group, with Andrej Kramarić scoring 6 goals and Ivan Perišić bagging 4 along the way.
After following up their 2018 World Cup final appearance with a 2022 3rd place, can they really be discounted as a top tournament side? Any side with Luka Modrić in it has to be feared. Josko Gvardiol makes it in after recovering from a nasty injury, and will also likely be key to their chances of success.
Manager Zlatko Dalić is considered a man-management legend, and has the complete respect of the side.
Play style:
Typically confident and possession-heavy, Croatia are also a bit of a swiss army knife. As you would expect, they like to use the midfield quality of Luka Modrić, who has typically been played in a slightly higher role to manage his fitness, operating in and around the number 10 area.
He still pulls the strings in attack, while the double pivot act as a shield in front of the back four. Against low blocks they will push their fullbacks high and create passing triangles in the wide areas.
They’re very adaptable to wherever they spot defensive weaknesses in the opposition, so expect them to probe and press, find weaknesses and then quickly look to exploit them. If the weakness closes up, they’ll rotate and find another until they get a breakthrough goal.
But they are susceptible to quick counters. Saka and Gordon could cause nightmares for them, especially as the core squad of Croatia is now aging (Modrić is 40).
Expected formation:
4-2-3-1, changing shape to a 3-2-5 to exploit wide areas in possession.
Chances:
You would expect them to finish 2nd. Could they cause an upset against England? We’ll find out in this group’s opening game on June 17th in Dallas. You would expect England to be well-prepared and capable of beating Croatia, but we’ve heard that said before.
***
Panama
This is Panama’s second World Cup, and the second in which they’ll face England at the group stage. Their last appearance in 2018 saw them finish bottom of Group G with 0 points and a -9 goal difference. But will things be better this time around?
They qualified for the 2026 World Cup with relative ease, helped by the absence of the automatically-qualified USA, Mexico and Canada from their CONCACAF campaign. Facing up against Nicaragua, Guyana, Montserrat and Belize, they topped their group, before doing so again against Suriname, Guatemala and El Salvador in the third round to seal their berth.
You might be wondering how they will fare against top opposition, and we did get a sneak peek at that when they faced Brazil prior to the tournament. They were demolished 6-2 and aside from an own goal and a late consolation (which was some strike, to be fair), they looked unable to resist the might of Brazil’s top attacking talent.
England and Croatia will like what they saw.
Play style:
They like to play with a patient style somewhat akin to tika-taka, with a back three of ball playing centre backs, supported by wider wing backs who like to play high but can drop deeper to support, relying on the athleticism of Amir Murillo and Eric Davis to make it work.
They play a double pivot and inverted wingers who like to tuck inside and create narrow overloads and vertical passing lanes.
Manager Thomas Christiansen likes to control the tempo and hold possession, but they may have been lulled into a false sense of security by relatively weak regional opposition that hasn’t tested them as much as they may be tested at the 2026 World Cup.
They can find themselves getting pinned too deep by top sides, as we saw in their friendly against Brazil, and they also lack the composed finishing of some elite sides in the competition.
Expected formation:
3-4-3, becoming a 5-4-1 or 4-5-1 under pressure.
Chances:
I think they’re going to struggle at the 2026 World Cup and it’ll be a shoot out for last place with Ghana in the group stage. I think Ghana might end up having the edge over them and Panama will be going home, maybe with 0 points again.
***
Ghana
Some will be surprised to see quite how far Ghana seem to have fallen down the world rankings from their 2010 heights, when they were denied a semi-final berth only by the shithousery of Luis Suarez.
In fact, even before that, they occasionally breached the top 25 of the rankings. In recent years, that quality has faded away and Ghana have been on something of a slide.
Source: FIFA Men’s Rankings
But this new-look Ghana has a determination about them that has expressed itself throughout the build up to the tournament. Topping their group in CAF qualifying, finishing 6 points clear of Madagascar, and ahead of Mali, Comoros, Central African Republic and Chad, they looked confident along the way - winning 8, drawing 1 and losing just one away game to Comoros along the way.
Will they be able to trouble England and Croatia? Probably not. But we think they could cause problems for Panama.
Play style:
Under Carlos Queiroz, Ghana have talked in recent days about a need to adapt to his style of play. Slightly worrying this close to the tournament, but the core principles of how they play will be safety first, with lightning transitions where they are able to launch them.
Queiroz likes to build around the strengths of the team - robust defending, aerial and physical pressure, and then they will rely on direct, vertical counter-attacks and second balls.
They’ll likely line up in a very defensive style against England and Croatia and sit in a very low block to grind out results. Whether they’ll be able to stop the likes of Modric and Saka though is another question.
Against Panama, you would expect them to play more on the front foot and look to exploit space. Thomas Partey will be key to pushing forwards and setting the tempo, and you’ll see the full backs marauding forwards much more than you will against England or Croatia.
Expected formation:
4-1-4-1 or 4-5-1, no-nonsense football.
Chances:
Two draws against England and Croatia and a win against Panama might be enough to squeeze them into 3rd place and a shot at being one of the 8 third-placed finishing teams that qualify for the Round of 32 on merit. But they’ll be hard-pushed to get anything from England or Croatia and they’ll likely have to cross their fingers and hope they can get a good result against Panama.
The Tournament Scout’s Prediction
England to win the group
Croatia 2nd
Ghana pip Panama to 3rd
Panama down and out in 4th
Group L Preview: Old enemies meet again
Kane, and able?
Original article:
Last updated:
Group L Preview
England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
World Rankings:
England 4th
Croatia 11th
Panama 33rd
Ghana 74th
GROUP STRENGTH
On paper, England will fancy their chances in a group that should suit them. But the reappearance of Croatia, who beat England in the 2018 semi-finals, will trigger some memories.
Some readers may be surprised to see Ghana down in 74th place. That makes them the 4th weakest side at the World Cup despite being a whisker away from becoming World Cup semi-finalists back in 2010.
Panama sit at an interesting point, adrift in the ratings from England and Croatia but comfortably clear of Ghana suggesting they could stake a claim to 3rd place if they have things their own way. Of course, tournament football rarely works like that…
***
England
England absolutely blasted through qualifying, with 8 wins from 8 games, 22 goals scored and not a single goal conceded against Albania, Serbia, Latvia and Andorra.
While they will face sterner tests in the USA, it’s nevertheless a positive sign that things have been clicking under Thomas Tuchel, who has been hired by the FA with the express goal of winning the World Cup.
Where Gareth Southgate laid down the foundations of England working together as a collective, Tuchel’s all about driving that home and finally delivering silverware for England for the first time since 1966. But after what is now “60 years of hurt”, can they pull it off or will they falter in the latter stages yet again?
And will Tuchel be able to defend leaving big names like Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold at home?
Will Tuchel get his own West End play too?
Play style:
England are likely to play a back four, with the double pivot of Rice and Anderson in front of O’Reilly, Guehi, Stones and James. Bellingham or Morgan Rogers will likely sit in the number 10 behind the talismanic Kane. Meanwhile, the devastating play-stretchers Gordon and Saka will sit in wide areas and relentlessly run at defences.
This is a side with defensive steel, extreme midfield ability, explosive wide pace, great final third movement and a total footballer in Kane up front at his absolute peak, who has scored an incredible 61 goals in all competitions this season.
His performances will be key, and when opposition defences try to mark him they will likely pull themselves out of shape to allow the marauding Gordon and Saka to get in behind and find the box-crashing number 10s. The left and right backs can also push up with Tuchel’s trademark fluidity and flexibility and overload the opposition regardless of who they play.
If it works, it’s going to be deadly.
Expected formation:
A 4-2-3-1, varying into 3-2-5 or 2-3-5 depending on who they’re up against and phases of play. Very fluid and flexible and very difficult to defend against, with elite technicians able to pull it off, underlined by their credentials at top clubs.
Chances:
One blot on their record of late was losing to Senegal in a recent friendly, but when the tournament kicks off you would expect England to find their qualification form and breeze through this group.
If they get a favourable draw, they could go all the way to the semi-finals, final, or even win the competition. They have elite technicality, an aggressive play style, tactical flexibility and the tournament steel of having recently appeared in the 2018 World Cup semi finals, the final of Euro 2020 (which they lost on penalties) and the final of Euro 2024.
***
Croatia
Croatia are another side who enter the tournament with a great qualification record, having won 7 and drawn 1 of their 8 qualifying games. Although some of those results were against relatively weaker opposition like the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar, they nevertheless finished 6 points clear of Czechia to dominate the group, with Andrej Kramarić scoring 6 goals and Ivan Perišić bagging 4 along the way.
After following up their 2018 World Cup final appearance with a 2022 3rd place, can they really be discounted as a top tournament side? Any side with Luka Modrić in it has to be feared. Josko Gvardiol makes it in after recovering from a nasty injury, and will also likely be key to their chances of success.
Manager Zlatko Dalić is considered a man-management legend, and has the complete respect of the side.
Play style:
Typically confident and possession-heavy, Croatia are also a bit of a swiss army knife. As you would expect, they like to use the midfield quality of Luka Modrić, who has typically been played in a slightly higher role to manage his fitness, operating in and around the number 10 area.
He still pulls the strings in attack, while the double pivot act as a shield in front of the back four. Against low blocks they will push their fullbacks high and create passing triangles in the wide areas.
They’re very adaptable to wherever they spot defensive weaknesses in the opposition, so expect them to probe and press, find weaknesses and then quickly look to exploit them. If the weakness closes up, they’ll rotate and find another until they get a breakthrough goal.
But they are susceptible to quick counters. Saka and Gordon could cause nightmares for them, especially as the core squad of Croatia is now aging (Modrić is 40).
Expected formation:
4-2-3-1, changing shape to a 3-2-5 to exploit wide areas in possession.
Chances:
You would expect them to finish 2nd. Could they cause an upset against England? We’ll find out in this group’s opening game on June 17th in Dallas. You would expect England to be well-prepared and capable of beating Croatia, but we’ve heard that said before.
***
Panama
This is Panama’s second World Cup, and the second in which they’ll face England at the group stage. Their last appearance in 2018 saw them finish bottom of Group G with 0 points and a -9 goal difference. But will things be better this time around?
They qualified for the 2026 World Cup with relative ease, helped by the absence of the automatically-qualified USA, Mexico and Canada from their CONCACAF campaign. Facing up against Nicaragua, Guyana, Montserrat and Belize, they topped their group, before doing so again against Suriname, Guatemala and El Salvador in the third round to seal their berth.
You might be wondering how they will fare against top opposition, and we did get a sneak peek at that when they faced Brazil prior to the tournament. They were demolished 6-2 and aside from an own goal and a late consolation (which was some strike, to be fair), they looked unable to resist the might of Brazil’s top attacking talent.
England and Croatia will like what they saw.
Play style:
They like to play with a patient style somewhat akin to tika-taka, with a back three of ball playing centre backs, supported by wider wing backs who like to play high but can drop deeper to support, relying on the athleticism of Amir Murillo and Eric Davis to make it work.
They play a double pivot and inverted wingers who like to tuck inside and create narrow overloads and vertical passing lanes.
Manager Thomas Christiansen likes to control the tempo and hold possession, but they may have been lulled into a false sense of security by relatively weak regional opposition that hasn’t tested them as much as they may be tested at the 2026 World Cup.
They can find themselves getting pinned too deep by top sides, as we saw in their friendly against Brazil, and they also lack the composed finishing of some elite sides in the competition.
Expected formation:
3-4-3, becoming a 5-4-1 or 4-5-1 under pressure.
Chances:
I think they’re going to struggle at the 2026 World Cup and it’ll be a shoot out for last place with Ghana in the group stage. I think Ghana might end up having the edge over them and Panama will be going home, maybe with 0 points again.
***
Ghana
Some will be surprised to see quite how far Ghana seem to have fallen down the world rankings from their 2010 heights, when they were denied a semi-final berth only by the shithousery of Luis Suarez.
In fact, even before that, they occasionally breached the top 25 of the rankings. In recent years, that quality has faded away and Ghana have been on something of a slide.
Source: FIFA Men’s Rankings
But this new-look Ghana has a determination about them that has expressed itself throughout the build up to the tournament. Topping their group in CAF qualifying, finishing 6 points clear of Madagascar, and ahead of Mali, Comoros, Central African Republic and Chad, they looked confident along the way - winning 8, drawing 1 and losing just one away game to Comoros along the way.
Will they be able to trouble England and Croatia? Probably not. But we think they could cause problems for Panama.
Play style:
Under Carlos Queiroz, Ghana have talked in recent days about a need to adapt to his style of play. Slightly worrying this close to the tournament, but the core principles of how they play will be safety first, with lightning transitions where they are able to launch them.
Queiroz likes to build around the strengths of the team - robust defending, aerial and physical pressure, and then they will rely on direct, vertical counter-attacks and second balls.
They’ll likely line up in a very defensive style against England and Croatia and sit in a very low block to grind out results. Whether they’ll be able to stop the likes of Modric and Saka though is another question.
Against Panama, you would expect them to play more on the front foot and look to exploit space. Thomas Partey will be key to pushing forwards and setting the tempo, and you’ll see the full backs marauding forwards much more than you will against England or Croatia.
Expected formation:
4-1-4-1 or 4-5-1, no-nonsense football.
Chances:
Two draws against England and Croatia and a win against Panama might be enough to squeeze them into 3rd place and a shot at being one of the 8 third-placed finishing teams that qualify for the Round of 32 on merit. But they’ll be hard-pushed to get anything from England or Croatia and they’ll likely have to cross their fingers and hope they can get a good result against Panama.
The Tournament Scout’s Prediction
England to win the group
Croatia 2nd
Ghana pip Panama to 3rd
Panama down and out in 4th
22 min read
Group L Preview: Old enemies meet again
Kane, and able?
Group L Preview
England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana
World Rankings:
England 4th
Croatia 11th
Panama 33rd
Ghana 74th
GROUP STRENGTH
On paper, England will fancy their chances in a group that should suit them. But the reappearance of Croatia, who beat England in the 2018 semi-finals, will trigger some memories.
Some readers may be surprised to see Ghana down in 74th place. That makes them the 4th weakest side at the World Cup despite being a whisker away from becoming World Cup semi-finalists back in 2010.
Panama sit at an interesting point, adrift in the ratings from England and Croatia but comfortably clear of Ghana suggesting they could stake a claim to 3rd place if they have things their own way. Of course, tournament football rarely works like that…
***
England
England absolutely blasted through qualifying, with 8 wins from 8 games, 22 goals scored and not a single goal conceded against Albania, Serbia, Latvia and Andorra.
While they will face sterner tests in the USA, it’s nevertheless a positive sign that things have been clicking under Thomas Tuchel, who has been hired by the FA with the express goal of winning the World Cup.
Where Gareth Southgate laid down the foundations of England working together as a collective, Tuchel’s all about driving that home and finally delivering silverware for England for the first time since 1966. But after what is now “60 years of hurt”, can they pull it off or will they falter in the latter stages yet again?
And will Tuchel be able to defend leaving big names like Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold at home?
Will Tuchel get his own West End play too?
Play style:
England are likely to play a back four, with the double pivot of Rice and Anderson in front of O’Reilly, Guehi, Stones and James. Bellingham or Morgan Rogers will likely sit in the number 10 behind the talismanic Kane. Meanwhile, the devastating play-stretchers Gordon and Saka will sit in wide areas and relentlessly run at defences.
This is a side with defensive steel, extreme midfield ability, explosive wide pace, great final third movement and a total footballer in Kane up front at his absolute peak, who has scored an incredible 61 goals in all competitions this season.
His performances will be key, and when opposition defences try to mark him they will likely pull themselves out of shape to allow the marauding Gordon and Saka to get in behind and find the box-crashing number 10s. The left and right backs can also push up with Tuchel’s trademark fluidity and flexibility and overload the opposition regardless of who they play.
If it works, it’s going to be deadly.
Expected formation:
A 4-2-3-1, varying into 3-2-5 or 2-3-5 depending on who they’re up against and phases of play. Very fluid and flexible and very difficult to defend against, with elite technicians able to pull it off, underlined by their credentials at top clubs.
Chances:
One blot on their record of late was losing to Senegal in a recent friendly, but when the tournament kicks off you would expect England to find their qualification form and breeze through this group.
If they get a favourable draw, they could go all the way to the semi-finals, final, or even win the competition. They have elite technicality, an aggressive play style, tactical flexibility and the tournament steel of having recently appeared in the 2018 World Cup semi finals, the final of Euro 2020 (which they lost on penalties) and the final of Euro 2024.
***
Croatia
Croatia are another side who enter the tournament with a great qualification record, having won 7 and drawn 1 of their 8 qualifying games. Although some of those results were against relatively weaker opposition like the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar, they nevertheless finished 6 points clear of Czechia to dominate the group, with Andrej Kramarić scoring 6 goals and Ivan Perišić bagging 4 along the way.
After following up their 2018 World Cup final appearance with a 2022 3rd place, can they really be discounted as a top tournament side? Any side with Luka Modrić in it has to be feared. Josko Gvardiol makes it in after recovering from a nasty injury, and will also likely be key to their chances of success.
Manager Zlatko Dalić is considered a man-management legend, and has the complete respect of the side.
Play style:
Typically confident and possession-heavy, Croatia are also a bit of a swiss army knife. As you would expect, they like to use the midfield quality of Luka Modrić, who has typically been played in a slightly higher role to manage his fitness, operating in and around the number 10 area.
He still pulls the strings in attack, while the double pivot act as a shield in front of the back four. Against low blocks they will push their fullbacks high and create passing triangles in the wide areas.
They’re very adaptable to wherever they spot defensive weaknesses in the opposition, so expect them to probe and press, find weaknesses and then quickly look to exploit them. If the weakness closes up, they’ll rotate and find another until they get a breakthrough goal.
But they are susceptible to quick counters. Saka and Gordon could cause nightmares for them, especially as the core squad of Croatia is now aging (Modrić is 40).
Expected formation:
4-2-3-1, changing shape to a 3-2-5 to exploit wide areas in possession.
Chances:
You would expect them to finish 2nd. Could they cause an upset against England? We’ll find out in this group’s opening game on June 17th in Dallas. You would expect England to be well-prepared and capable of beating Croatia, but we’ve heard that said before.
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Panama
This is Panama’s second World Cup, and the second in which they’ll face England at the group stage. Their last appearance in 2018 saw them finish bottom of Group G with 0 points and a -9 goal difference. But will things be better this time around?
They qualified for the 2026 World Cup with relative ease, helped by the absence of the automatically-qualified USA, Mexico and Canada from their CONCACAF campaign. Facing up against Nicaragua, Guyana, Montserrat and Belize, they topped their group, before doing so again against Suriname, Guatemala and El Salvador in the third round to seal their berth.
You might be wondering how they will fare against top opposition, and we did get a sneak peek at that when they faced Brazil prior to the tournament. They were demolished 6-2 and aside from an own goal and a late consolation (which was some strike, to be fair), they looked unable to resist the might of Brazil’s top attacking talent.
England and Croatia will like what they saw.
Play style:
They like to play with a patient style somewhat akin to tika-taka, with a back three of ball playing centre backs, supported by wider wing backs who like to play high but can drop deeper to support, relying on the athleticism of Amir Murillo and Eric Davis to make it work.
They play a double pivot and inverted wingers who like to tuck inside and create narrow overloads and vertical passing lanes.
Manager Thomas Christiansen likes to control the tempo and hold possession, but they may have been lulled into a false sense of security by relatively weak regional opposition that hasn’t tested them as much as they may be tested at the 2026 World Cup.
They can find themselves getting pinned too deep by top sides, as we saw in their friendly against Brazil, and they also lack the composed finishing of some elite sides in the competition.
Expected formation:
3-4-3, becoming a 5-4-1 or 4-5-1 under pressure.
Chances:
I think they’re going to struggle at the 2026 World Cup and it’ll be a shoot out for last place with Ghana in the group stage. I think Ghana might end up having the edge over them and Panama will be going home, maybe with 0 points again.
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Ghana
Some will be surprised to see quite how far Ghana seem to have fallen down the world rankings from their 2010 heights, when they were denied a semi-final berth only by the shithousery of Luis Suarez.
In fact, even before that, they occasionally breached the top 25 of the rankings. In recent years, that quality has faded away and Ghana have been on something of a slide.
Source: FIFA Men’s Rankings
But this new-look Ghana has a determination about them that has expressed itself throughout the build up to the tournament. Topping their group in CAF qualifying, finishing 6 points clear of Madagascar, and ahead of Mali, Comoros, Central African Republic and Chad, they looked confident along the way - winning 8, drawing 1 and losing just one away game to Comoros along the way.
Will they be able to trouble England and Croatia? Probably not. But we think they could cause problems for Panama.
Play style:
Under Carlos Queiroz, Ghana have talked in recent days about a need to adapt to his style of play. Slightly worrying this close to the tournament, but the core principles of how they play will be safety first, with lightning transitions where they are able to launch them.
Queiroz likes to build around the strengths of the team - robust defending, aerial and physical pressure, and then they will rely on direct, vertical counter-attacks and second balls.
They’ll likely line up in a very defensive style against England and Croatia and sit in a very low block to grind out results. Whether they’ll be able to stop the likes of Modric and Saka though is another question.
Against Panama, you would expect them to play more on the front foot and look to exploit space. Thomas Partey will be key to pushing forwards and setting the tempo, and you’ll see the full backs marauding forwards much more than you will against England or Croatia.
Expected formation:
4-1-4-1 or 4-5-1, no-nonsense football.
Chances:
Two draws against England and Croatia and a win against Panama might be enough to squeeze them into 3rd place and a shot at being one of the 8 third-placed finishing teams that qualify for the Round of 32 on merit. But they’ll be hard-pushed to get anything from England or Croatia and they’ll likely have to cross their fingers and hope they can get a good result against Panama.
The Tournament Scout’s Prediction
England to win the group
Croatia 2nd
Ghana pip Panama to 3rd
Panama down and out in 4th
22 min read