England's 2026 World Cup opponents: A deep dive on Group L rivals

Cameron Smith

• 5 Dec 2025 14:04 CST
• 6 min read

Analysis

England have officially been drawn in Group L for the 2026 World Cup and they will face Croatia, Ghana and Panama in the group stages.

The Three Lions were knocked out by France in the quarter-finals in the last tournament and they will be looking to improve on that performance next summer, with Thomas Tuchel at the reins.

The ex-Chelsea boss oversaw a flawless qualifying campaign, with eight wins in eight games and zero goals conceded, and England unsurprisingly head into the World Cup as one of the favourites for victory.

Below, we take a look at who England will be facing in the group stages.

England’s World Cup group

FIFA WORLD CUP 2026: GROUP L

Croatia

A familiar foe, England will be seeking revenge against Croatia after suffering an extra-time defeat to the European nation in the 2018 semi-finals.

Ivan Perisic was the match-winner that day and although he will be 37 years old when the tournament starts, he remains a key player under long-serving manager Zlatko Dalic.

Fellow veteran Luka Modric is also still a crucial figure, despite being 39 years of age, but a sprinkling of youth has been added in recent years.

Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol and Bayern Munich’s Josip Stanisic are part of a formidable backline, while Inter Milan starlet Petar Sucic is likely to partner the aforementioned Modric in midfield.

Croatia were immense in qualifying, winning seven of their eight fixtures and drawing one, while they only conceded four goals - the fifth-best of any team in Europe. Furthermore, only Norway (37), Belgium (29) and Netherlands (27) scored more than their 26 goals, despite the fact they don’t possess a world-class centre forward.

In addition, they were only narrowly beaten on penalties by France in a two-legged Nations League quarter-final tie in March.

They will be fierce opponents for England and a good test for Tuchel’s men in the opening match.

Ghana

Ghana are only 72nd in the FIFA World Ranking, but they have some of the best players in African football and they could cause a shock at next summer’s tournament.

Otto Addo’s side surprisingly didn’t qualify for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations, but they sailed through qualification for the World Cup by topping CAF Group I with eight wins, one draw and only one defeat.

They will be looking to reach the knockout stages for the first time since their memorable run to the quarter-finals in 2010 and they have a number of formidable attacking options at their disposal, including Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth), Mohammed Kudus (Tottenham Hotspur) and Inaki Williams (Athletic Club). Meanwhile, ex-Arsenal man Thomas Partey will anchor their midfield.

However, despite their easy qualification for the World Cup, Ghana recently suffered friendly defeats to Korea Republic and Japan in the November international break, and they lack a quality goalkeeper or top-level central defenders.

England will fancy their chances to beat the Black Stars, but Tuchel’s rearguard will certainly be tested.

Panama

The final opponent in England’s group is Panama, who qualified by virtue of winning all four of their first round qualifiers, before winning three and drawing three of their second round games.

They are ranked 30th in the world by FIFA and they notably earned a shock 1-0 victory over the USA in the CONCACAF Nations League semi-final in March thanks to a 94th winner from Cecilio Waterman.

Meanwhile, they were only beaten in the final by Mexico via a stoppage time penalty from Fulham striker Raul Jimenez.

Unlike Ghana, Panama don’t boast any high-profile Premier League stars, but three of their current stars have over 100 international caps and they will rely on this experience as they bid to reach the knockout stages for the first time in their history.

However, they were brushed aside 6-1 by England in the 2018 World Cup group stages and are, on paper, the Three Lions’ easiest opponents yet again this time around.

2026 World Cup draw in full

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Group I

Group J

Group K

Group L