Ghana, England, Panama, and Croatia will battle it out in Group L of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers after they were named in the same group after the draw on Friday, December 5, 2025. The Black Stars will open their campaign against Panama on June 17 before facing England and Croatia in the other Group matches. In this article, we look at the profile of the four teams and their history in the FIFA World Cup.
World Cup Group L team profiles:
England
England amassed a perfect record of eight wins from eight games in qualification to reach an eighth consecutive World Cup. The last time the Three Lions failed to reach the finals was the previous time it took place on U.S. soil in 1994. Thomas Tuchel will lead England in a major tournament for the first time. The former Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain coach took the reins after Gareth Southgate bowed out with a final defeat to Spain at Euro 2024. Southgate was England's most successful manager since Alf Ramsey masterminded their solitary World Cup success in 1966: under him, England reached consecutive European Championship finals and were beaten in the semifinals and quarterfinals of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The hope from the Football Association is that Tuchel's elite club-level experience will help to get an extra few per cent out of a gifted squad spearheaded by captain and record goal-scorer Harry Kane. Jude Bellingham is one of several enviable attacking options, although England look a touch light in defence.
- Current FIFA world ranking:4th
- Regional ranking:3rd (UEFA)
- World Cup titles: 1
- World Cup appearances (last):16 (Qatar 2022)
- How qualified: UEFA Group K winners: 8W-0L-0D
- Coach: Thomas Tuchel (Germany) since January 2025
- Key player(s): Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Croatia
Just missing out on a Pot 1 spot, Croatia will be pushing as far as they can at the 2026 World Cup as they look to give a famous send-off to Luka Modric. Their legendary captain, now 40 years old, is surely at his last major international competition, hoping to reach 200 career caps in the process. While Croatia lacks star power behind Modric’s titanic presence, they continue to prove greater than the sum of their parts. That is largely thanks to the brilliance of head coach Zlatko Dalic, known as the chief architect of Croatia’s modern rise to elite football status and by far the longest-tenured coach of any World Cup side in the 2026 field. In place since 2017, the 59-year-old has led his home country to two World Cup semifinals and one final, a UEFA Nations League final, and a Round of 16 at the Euros. While they still have not won a major title in their country’s short history, their group-stage exit at Euro 2024 remains the only blemish on Dalic’s otherwise glittering resume. Croatia also benefits from a number of exceptional youth systems at the country’s most prominent clubs, as the likes of Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split continue to pump out talented Croatian players who depart for major European clubs before returning to help the national team secure big results. Modric, Josko Gvardiol, and Ivan Perisic are amongst many others who all spent the majority of their youth careers at one of those two clubs. Croatia has some history with its fellow group member, England. In 2018, Croatia defeated the Three Lions in the World Cup semifinals, winning in extra-time thanks to a Mario Mandžukić goal.
- Current FIFA world ranking:10th
- Regional ranking:8th (UEFA)
- World Cup titles:0
- World Cup appearances (last):6 (Qatar 2022)*
- *Competed as Yugoslavia until becoming a FIFA member in 1994
- How qualified: UEFA Group L winners: 7W-1D-0L
- Coach: Zlatko Dalic (Croatia) since October 2017
- Key player(s): Luka Modric (AC Milan), Josko Gvardiol (Man City), Dominik Livakovic (Girona), Ivan Perisic (PSV)
Panama
In just their second World Cup ever, Panama qualified thanks to the open spots left by the automatic qualification of CONCACAF powers USA, Canada, and Mexico. They were looking set for a place in the intercontinental playoff until Cinderella story Suriname choked on the final day of qualification. This is the last hurrah for a veteran Panama squad that dealt the deathblow to the United States in the 2024 Copa America, as Anibal Godoy is 35, Alberto Quintero is 37, Eric Davis is 34, and Luis Mejia is 34. Panama’s first-ever World Cup was in 2018 (when they were also in a group with England), finishing dead last in the competition, so anything better than that is improvement. Coach Thomas Christiansen has brought stability to the national team, and has made them a very difficult out.
- Current FIFA world ranking:30
- Regional ranking:4th (CONCACAF)
- World Cup titles:0
- World Cup appearances (last):1 (2018)
- How qualified:1st, CONCACAF qualifying Group A: 3W-0L-3D
- Coach: Thomas Christiansen (Denmark) since July 2020
- Key player(s): Anibal Godoy (San Diego FC), Adalberto Carrasquilla (Pumas UNAM), Luis Mejia (Nacional)
Ghana
Ghana made the most of a relatively favourable draw by plotting an assured path through a CAF qualification section that has seen the likes of Nigeria and Cameroon fall by the wayside. The Black Stars are into their fifth World Cup out of the past six since making their debut in Germany in 2006. Their past two campaigns have ended in group-stage exits and one win across those two tournaments. Ghana's most famous World Cup run ended in controversy and recriminations after Uruguay's Luis Suarez was sent off for a handball on the line in the quarterfinal at South Africa 2010. Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty with the score at 1-1, and his side went on to lose the eventual shootout. This generation is not as gifted as the one that boasted the talents of Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng but will not be overawed by the task ahead. Head coach Otto Addo will look to dazzling Premier League wingers Antoine Semenyo and Mohammed Kudus to hopefully spark a memorable summer.
- Current FIFA world ranking:72
- Regional ranking: 14th (CAF)
- World Cup titles:0
- World Cup appearances (last):4 (Qatar 2022)
- How qualified: CAF Group I winners: 8W-1L-1D
- Coach: Otto Addo (Ghana) since March 2024
- Key player(s): Mohammed Kudus (Tottenham), Inaki Williams (Athletic Club), Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth)
World Cup 2026 bracket for Group L
- The Group L winner will face a best third-place side from either Group E, H, I, J or K in the Round of 32.
- The Group L runner-up will enter the bottom half of the bracket. They are scheduled to meet the runner-up of Group K in the Round of 32.
- If the Group L third-place finisher is one of the eight teams that qualify for the Round of 32 (from the 12 groups), their opponent would be the winner of Group K.
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