By Levi Wolf
Group L in the 2026 World Cup looks kinder than most. Here’s everything you need to know about England’s path through the group stage – and a prediction for each game.
After the heartbreak of Euro 2024 – and the end of the Gareth Southgate era – England head into the 2026 World Cup with a new manager, a new sense of purpose, and a draw they’ll be pleased with.
Thomas Tuchel, appointed in the autumn of 2024, gets his first crack at a major tournament with the Three Lions, and the group stage is as inviting as England fans could have reasonably hoped for.
England have been placed in Group L alongside Croatia, Ghana, and Panama.
On paper, it should be an easily managed group – no powerhouses like Brazil or Spain.
But football, as England fans know better than most, rarely ever pans out how people hope.
Here’s a full breakdown of the fixtures, venues, kick-off times and a prediction for each one.
Game 1 – England vs Croatia
Wednesday 17 June – AT&T Stadium, Dallas, Texas – 9pm UK time
There’s something poetic about England opening their World Cup campaign against Croatia.
After all, it is the team that ended England’s 2018 World Cup dream in the semi-finals and then handed them a Nations League defeat in the years that followed.
Croatia won’t be the force they were under their ‘Golden Generation’ of Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić and Danijel Šubasić, but they’re never straightforward opponents.
Modrić will be 40 by the time this tournament kicks off – whether he’s still involved remains to be seen – but Croatia continue to produce gifted midfielders and won’t roll over for anyone.
AT&T Stadium in Dallas is one of the most iconic venues in American sports – a 90,000 capacity that hosted the Super Bowl XLV.
Prediction: England 2-1 Croatia
Game 2 – England vs Ghana
Tuesday 23 June – Gillette Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts – 9pm UK time
England’s second group game takes them to the northeast, to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, home to the New England Patriots, just outside Boston.
It’s another strong atmosphere, an electric crowd, and a Ghana side that has had a few turbulent years since their last World Cup appearance in Qatar.
The Black Stars have struggled for consistency and failed to qualify from their group stage in 2022, but the African sides have a habit of raising their game on the biggest stage.
England will be expected to win, and they should – but Ghana won’t make it easy, particularly if their more mobile forwards get space behind England’s defence.
Six days after the opener, fatigue and heat shouldn’t be a major issue.
If England win the first game convincingly, Tuchel may bring changes here. The result should still be the same.
Prediction: England 3-0 Ghana
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Game 3 – Panama vs England
Saturday 27 June – MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey – 10pm UK time
The final group game brings England to perhaps the most storied venue of the tournament – MetLife Stadium will also host the World Cup final on July 19.
Sitting in the shadow of the New York skyline, it’s the ground where England will hope to return for the final.
A win here and England will have already played on the biggest stage before the knockout rounds even begin.
Panama qualified for their second-ever World Cup and will be delighted to be here, but they’re the group’s clear outsiders.
England famously hammered them 6-1 at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and while this Panama side won’t be taken completely lightly, it would be a major surprise if England didn’t collect all three points.
If England has already qualified going into this game, which they should have, Tuchel will likely rotate. Still, an England victory is the only realistic outcome.
Prediction: England 5-0 Panama
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The bigger picture: Can England actually win this?
The seeding system FIFA has introduced for 2026 works in England’s favour. As the fourth-ranked team in the tournament, they cannot face Spain or Argentina before the semi-finals, and they wouldn’t meet France – barring a final – at all before then either.
The knock-out path isn’t as easy as it sounds, however.
Brazil still loom further down the road if things go as expected – but the group stage setup gives Tuchel’s side every opportunity to build momentum and hit the end of the tournament with rhythm and confidence.
England have been here before, many times.
The difference this time is that the expectations feel more fine-tuned.
Whether that’s enough to finally bring it home is another question entirely. But the fixtures are in place. The path is as clear as it’s been in years.
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