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.
