Overview
England enters the last match of Group L of the 2026 World Cup with the goal of maintaining the top spot when facing Panama, after a disappointing goalless draw against Ghana.
Thomas Tuchel's team continues to face difficulties in the second match of a major tournament. This is the fourth consecutive time the "Three Lions" have failed to win in the second match of a World Cup or EURO tournament.
The 0-0 draw against Ghana also caused England to set an undesirable record. With a ball possession rate of up to 78.8%, this is the team with the highest ball possession rate in World Cup history but still could not score.
He even almost suffered defeat if VAR had not intervened after Ezri Konsa fouled Prince Kwabena Adu in the penalty area in the second half.
However, thanks to the 4-2 victory over Croatia in the opening match, England still holds a great advantage in the race for the top spot in the group. A draw against Panama would be enough for Tuchel's team to win a ticket to the knockout round with the top spot in the group thanks to a better goal difference than Ghana and one point more than Croatia.
Being at the top of the table is also important when England will only have to face one of the third-placed teams with the best results in the round of 32. If ranked second, the "Three Lions" are at risk of facing Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal right from the knockout round.
In the opposite direction, Panama was officially eliminated after two consecutive defeats against Ghana and Croatia. The CONCACAF representative no longer has a chance to compete for a ticket to the next round when they are 4 points behind England and Ghana, and also inferior to Croatia in head-to-head record.
Against Croatia, Panama only conceded one goal from Ante Budimir's goal. However, limited attacking ability continued to leave Thomas Christiansen's team empty-handed.
This is only the second time Panama has participated in the World Cup. In the first time in 2018, they also stopped right from the group stage with 3 consecutive defeats, scoring 2 goals and conceding 11 times.
Until before the 2026 World Cup, Panama had scored in 11 of their last 12 matches in all competitions, but were goalless in both of the first matches in Group L.
History is also not on Panama's side when the only meeting between the two teams at the World Cup ended with a 6-1 victory for England in the 2018 tournament.
Personnel situation
England is likely to have some personnel adjustments in the last match of Group L against Panama when Tuchel faces personnel problems.
Reece James is having a hamstring problem and is said to be out for a few matches. If the Chelsea defender is absent, Djed Spence is likely to move to the right flank, and Nico O'Reilly is given the opportunity to start in the left-back position.
On Panama's side, Thomas Christiansen continues to have a headache with the force problem. Key midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla has not yet recovered from a groin muscle injury, while captain Anibal Godoy has only played one minute since the beginning of the tournament due to not being in the best physical condition.
Expected lineup:
Mosquera, Murillo, Cordoba, Ramos, Andrade, Blackman, Martinez, Barcenas, Harvey, Rodriguez, Fajardo.
Pickford, Spence, Guehi, Konsa, O'Reilly, Mainoo, Anderson, Madueke, Bellingham, Rashford, Kane.
The match between Panama and England takes place at 4:00 AM on June 28 (Vietnam time).
