World Cup 2026: What are the knockout round scenarios for England and Group L?

Group L concludes group play on Saturday at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

While Panama has been eliminated, the other three teams can still win the group, and book a spot against a third-place team in the Round of 32. England is in the driver’s seat, but both Ghana and Croatia can still win Group L.

Here are the scenarios in Group L entering the final day of matches.

What are the Group L standings?

Here is how the teams stack up in Group L ahead of the final day of matches.

What are the next matches in Group L?

Here are the remaining matches in Group L. All times listed are Eastern.

Tuesday, June 23

England 0, Ghana, 0
Croatia 1, Panama 0

Saturday, June 27

Panama vs. England, 5:00 p.m.
Croatia vs. Ghana, 5:00 p.m.

What are the scenarios in Group L?

Here are the scenarios ahead of the final day of matches, set for June 27. These scenarios involve automatic qualification for the Round of 32 as one of the top two teams in the group. Teams can still advance as a third-place team, and for more on those standings we have you covered here. In addition, teams that are “eliminated” are guaranteed to finish fourth in their group.

England

The Three Lions are in a solid position, despite entering the final day of matches tied with Ghana with four points.

England will win Group L, and book a match against a third-place team in the Round of 32, with a win against Panama and a Ghana draw or loss against Croatia. They will also win the group with a win against Panama even if Ghana wins, if England then wins the tiebreakers against Ghana. Note that England is ahead of Ghana in the FIFA World Rankings, which is the final tiebreaker.

A draw in both matches means England wins the group, due to the goal differential tiebreaker. 

England will finish second with:

• A win against Panama, a Ghana win against Croatia, and Ghana winning the tiebreakers
• A draw against Panama and a Ghana win against Croatia
• A draw against Panama and a Croatia win against Ghana
• A loss to Panama, and a Croatia loss or draw against Ghana

Ghana

Ghana can still win Group L depending on how Saturday’s matches unfold. With a win over Croatia and an England draw or loss to Panama, the Black Stars win the group. Ghana also wins the group with a win against Croatia and an England win over Panama, provided Ghana then wins the tiebreakers against England. Ghana also wins the group with a draw against Croatia, provided England loses to Panama.

Ghana finishes second in the group with a win against Croatia, an England win against Panama, and then a loss to England in the tiebreakers. A draw with Croatia plus an England draw or win against Panama, and Ghana finishes second. Ghana also finishes second if they and England both lose, and they win the tiebreakers against England. In that scenario Croatia would win the group. 

Croatia

Speaking of Croatia, they will win Group L with a victory against Ghana, and an England loss or draw against Panama. They will finish second with a win against Ghana, and an England win against Panama.

Panama

Panama has already been eliminated. 

What about tiebreakers in Group L?

As outlined above, tiebreakers could play a role in Group L.

Here is how tiebreakers work at the World Cup this year. If two or more teams in the same group are equal on points following the group stage, a three-step process will be followed to determine tiebreakers.

In the first step, the greatest number of points in the group matches between the tied teams will be applied. Then, the superior goal difference from the group matches between the tied teams will be applied, and finally, the greatest number of goals scored in all group matches between the tied teams will be applied.

If that cannot determine a tiebreaker, then the teams that are still equal will advance to step two. In this stage, the first step is the goal difference in all group matches, then the greatest number of goals in all group matches, and finally the highest team conduct score (relating to yellow and red cards) will be applied.

If that does not break the tie, then the teams still equal on points will be ranked according to the most recent FIFA World Rankings.

That first step, which reads “greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned” according to FIFA, effectively turns into a head-to-head tiebreaker in the case of ties between two teams.