Group L finished: England 1st, Croatia 2nd, Ghana 3rd, and Panama 4th

There is very little time left until the end of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup. In the first round of definitions of the last day of the first phase, Group L confirmed the order of its qualifiers: England defeated the eliminated Panama 2-0 to secure their first place and Croatia won a hard-fought match against Ghana 2-1 to finish as runners-up.

Panama 0-2 England

At the start of the match, England quickly took possession and initiated attacking plays. This was reflected in the constant arrivals in Panama's area in the early minutes, including a shot from Marcus Rashford in the 7th minute that was saved by Orlando Mosquera. However, later on, the Central Americans would also show their weapons with a shot from José Luis Rodríguez, cleared by Jordan Pickford.

For the rest of the first half, the English continued to pressure their opponent, but they could not translate their dominance into clear offensive opportunities, aside from a free kick from Rashford that went just past Mosquera's right post, let alone into goals.

In the second half, the Europeans almost took the lead due to an unusual defensive error by Panama: José Córdoba attempted to clear the ball in the area, but it hit his teammate Andrés Andrade and deflected just over the crossbar.

After many attempts, the Three Lions finally achieved 1-0. From a corner kick, Jude Bellingham would find Bukayo Saka, who outjumped his marker to score the goal that at that moment secured their qualification as group leaders. And they wouldn't stop there, as just 5 minutes later Harry Kane would head in the second.

In the final moments, although Panama would get a consolation goal through substitute José Fajardo, it would be disallowed for offside, marking the last notable episode of the match.

Croatia 2-1 Ghana

Unlike the other match, the game would start extremely evenly, although this would not prevent goal chances, such as a shot from Nikola Vlašić in the 17th minute that hit the left post of Benjamin Asare.

As time went on, Croatia would become more and more animated until they finally reached the goal. In the 31st minute, Petar Sučić received the ball in the midfield and, after controlling it, unleashed a low left-footed shot to the same post where the ball had previously not gone in for the 1-0 lead.

Although in the 39th minute, Ghana would have an opportunity to equalize with a shot from Antoine Semenyo that would just graze the goal line, the first 45 would end without further changes to the score.

In the second half, the Africans would get back into the match and force their opponent to retreat and hold on to the slim lead. Although this would be the trend for an extended period, it would finally pay off in the 72nd minute, when a free kick from substitute Ernest Nuamah found Derrick Luckassen, who with a subtle touch would beat Dominik Livakovic for the 1-1.

Despite the joy of equalizing and temporarily advancing as group runners-up, the Ghanaians would suffer another setback on the scoreboard. In the 82nd minute, a corner kick taken by the tireless Luka Modrić would find the head of Vlašić, who would finally score his goal to seal the victory.

How Group L Stands

With these results, England finished first with 7 points and will face a third-place team from Group E (Ecuador), I (Senegal) or K, next Wednesday, July 1, at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Meanwhile, Croatia finished second with 6 points and will face the second from Group K (currently Portugal) next Thursday, July 2 at BMO Field in Toronto.

Further down, Ghana finished third with 4 points and confirmed their mathematical qualification for the next phase, where they will play against the first from Group K (currently Colombia) next Friday, July 3 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

Finally, despite putting up a fight in all their matches, Panama finished at the bottom of the table with no points, resulting from 3 defeats, and thus eliminated from their second World Cup.