World Cup 2026 Group L peaks early with the England v Croatia match, one of the best for the Group Stage across all groups. A draw/loss will probably have the knives out for England among fans and media, a win could see hype beyond imagination. England’s impeccable Qualifying of no losses or goals conceded should see them cruise through the Group Stage thereafter. Just the one loss between all four teams in World Cup qualifying was Ghana’s and they still topped their group by six points and they were quarter finalists at the last World Cup. Panama’s 0% win rate v UEFA nations hurts in a group with two of them. As is Panama’s 100% loss rate at World Cups. Croatia are a former finalist and were W7 D1 in qualifying.
FIXTURES
| Match |
AEST Day |
Date |
AEST Time |
Team1 |
Team2 |
Ground |
Location |
Result |
| 22 |
Thursday |
Jun-17 |
6:00 |
England |
Croatia |
AT&T Stadium |
Arlington |
|
| 21 |
Thursday |
Jun-17 |
9:00 |
Ghana |
Panama |
BMO Field |
Toronto |
|
| 45 |
Wednesday |
Jun-23 |
6:00 |
England |
Ghana |
Gillette Stadium |
Foxborough |
|
| 46 |
Wednesday |
Jun-23 |
9:00 |
Panama |
Croatia |
BMO Field |
Toronto |
|
| 67 |
Sunday |
Jun-27 |
7:00 |
Panama |
England |
MetLife Stadium |
East Rutherford |
|
| 68 |
Sunday |
Jun-27 |
7:00 |
Croatia |
Ghana |
Lincoln Financial Field |
Philadelphia |
|
GROUP STATS
| Team |
Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Total WC Appearances |
Previous World Cup |
Previous best effort |
| Ghana |
CAF Group I winners |
12/10/2025 |
5 |
2022 |
Quarter-finals (2010) |
| England |
UEFA Group K winners |
14/10/2025 |
17 |
2022 |
Winners (1966) |
| Croatia |
UEFA Group L winners |
14/11/2025 |
7 |
2022 |
Runners-up (2018) |
| Panama |
CONCACAF third round Group A winners |
18/11/2025 |
2 |
2018 |
Group stage (2018) |
PREDICTIONS
Here’s where we put our money where our mouth is. Using all of the stats below and more, we have developed a H2H win rating for both teams for all Group Stage games. If the rating is within 5% of each other we’re calling a draw, otherwise the higher the rating the more likely to win. From there we come up with our prediction on the final table. All of that is available below for following, arguing or ignoring. We welcome any.
H2H MATCH RATINGS
| Match |
Team1 |
Ratings |
Team2 |
Ratings |
Match Prediction |
| 22 |
England |
50.7% |
Croatia |
49.3% |
Draw |
| 21 |
Ghana |
55.9% |
Panama |
44.1% |
Ghana |
| 45 |
England |
61.7% |
Ghana |
38.3% |
England |
| 46 |
Panama |
33.0% |
Croatia |
67.0% |
Croatia |
| 67 |
Panama |
28.9% |
England |
71.1% |
England |
| 68 |
Croatia |
59.8% |
Ghana |
40.2% |
Croatia |
FINAL TABLE PREDICTION
| Team |
Pts |
| England |
7 |
| Croatia |
7 |
| Ghana |
3 |
| Panama |
0 |
GENERAL STATS
