Get daily World Cup briefings from our writers across North America – plus more from Inside Sport after the tournamentGet our free World Cup briefing and sport emailGet our free World Cup briefing and sport emailCroatia and Ghana will clash in Group L to decide who joins England into the 2026 World Cup knockout stage.England missed out on the chance to top the group with a game to spare when they were held to a drab goalless draw by Ghana last time out, but will be expected to seal first place against already-eliminated Panama after having their progression confirmed by results elsewhere.Everything is still all to play for between Croatia and Ghana, though, with it very much possible that both progress to the round of 32.Their match will kick-off simultaneously with England’s at 10pm on Saturday 27 June, which could allow for some seismic shifts in the standings if Panama do manage to stun Thomas Tuchel’s men.Here’s everything you need to know about Group L’s knockout round permutations:What do Croatia need to qualify?Croatia will feel they must avoid defeat to progress to ensure they don’t suffer an early elimination from this year’s tournament, which would act as a damning fall from grace following a semi-final finish in 2022 and a stunning run to the final in 2018.A win will see them leapfrog Ghana into second while a draw will be enough for them to finish among the eight-best third-placed teams.What do Ghana need to qualify?Ghana are already into the round of 32 after racking up four points from their first two games, meaning they will at the very least go through in third. Any result other than defeat, however, will ensure they finish in the top two. If they manage to record a heavy win over Croatia and England don’t do the same against Panama, then they may even top the group. That would be an attractive proposition given that Portugal may await Group L’s runner-up.Head-to-head prominence over goal differenceIf teams finish on the same number of points their standing in the group will be determined by the head-to-head record against the nation they are level with. If one team tied on points with another has beaten them in the group stage, the winners will finish higher up the table. Where multiple teams are level on points, a mini-league is created, removing the results against the remaining teams. Those tied teams are ranked by points won in the games involving each other, then by goal difference, followed by goals scored. If…
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2026-06-27 08:36:48
