Group L features England alongside Croatia, Ghana and Panama
England open up the group with a clash against Croatia in Dallas
Ghana take on Panama a few hours later
England, World Cup winners in 1966, face old foes Croatia on Wednesday as they begin their bid to end 60 years of hurt at 9pm BST in Dallas.
A few hours later in Toronto, Ghana kick off their World Cup against Panama, who are making their second appearance in the competition, eight years after their debut.
England and Croatia are favourites to finish first and second, but both will be wary of the threat Ghana and Panama can pose.
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England vs Croatia (Wednesday, 9pm)
England head into the World Cup on the back of losing just once across the previous 12 months.
That defeat did come in March against Japan, but Thomas Tuchel has England well drilled heading into this tournament.
While there were a few surprise omissions from the squad, Tuchel has a genuine world class player that can spearhead the Three Lions to glory in skipper Harry Kane.
Kane scored six goals in Russia eight years ago to win the Golden Boot, adding another two in Qatar in 2022.
In season 2025-26, the Englishman scored a staggering 61 goals across 51 matches for Bayern Munich across all competitions and he is certainly in superb form.
Kane netted the winner against New Zealand in the first pre-tournament friendly and while World Cup glory is surely the only goal this summer, another three goals will see him overtake Gary Lineker as England’s highest scorer in the history of this competition, a certain personal target.
The forward has scored once against Croatia in four matches but with the potential for this to be his final World Cup, expect Kane to begin the tournament in scoring fashion.
Score prediction: England 2–1 Croatia
The latest England vs Croatia odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Ghana vs Panama (Thursday, 12am)
Ghana are set to play in their fifth World Cup, yet the Black Stars haven’t made the knockout stage since 2010, where they were so close to reaching the semi-finals.
In Qatar four years ago, Ghana finished bottom of their group, winning only one of their three matches.
Following a qualification campaign which saw Ghana win eight of their 10 matches, the ambition is to make it out of the group in North America.
Preparation hasn’t been great, though, failing to win any of their previous six matches, including a chastising 5-1 defeat to Austria in a friendly match in March.
Panama on the other hand enter their second World Cup having drawn with Bosnia-Herzegovina while also scoring twice against Brazil, despite ultimately losing the game 6-2, either side of a 4-2 win against the Dominican Republic.
Having scored just twice in Russia, Panama will now be aiming to win their first point at the World Cup.
Despite the contrasting form of both nations, Ghana should have more than enough firepower to overcome the challenge of the Central Americans.
Score prediction: Ghana 2–0 Panama
The latest Ghana vs Panama odds are available on LiveScore Bet
