2026 World Cup: Panama vs. England, Probable Lineups

The third and final match in Group L is the moment of truth for England, which, against Panama, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, just a few kilometers from New York City, must show its true colors: will it be the sparkling team we saw against Croatia, or the listless and disappointing one that took the field against Ghana? The match kicks off at 11 p.m. Italian time on Saturday (5 p.m. local time), with Qatari referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim officiating.

However, the Panamanians should not be underestimated; they lost both matches against Ghana and Croatia by narrow margins (the first one with a goal conceded only in the 95th minute) and, despite their elimination already being confirmed, they will fight tooth and nail to avoid ending the World Cup once again with three losses, as happened during their very first World Cup appearance, in Russia in 2018. Among the Canaleros, only one player is unavailable: midfielder Carrasquilla, who has already missed the previous two matches due to a muscle injury.

Given the possible combinations of results in the group, England is already guaranteed to advance to the next round as either first or second place. This outcome would have implications for their matchups: first place would allow Tuchel’s men to face one of the best third-place finishers (Senegal, Algeria, Austria, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, depending on their respective results), while second place would pit them against the second-place team from Group K—realistically, either Colombia or Portugal.

Probable Lineups

PANAMA (3-4-3): Mosquera; Blackman, Ramos, Cordoba; Murillo, Harvey, Martinez, Andrade; Barcenas, Waterman, Rodriguez. Head Coach: Christiansen.

ENGLAND (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Spence, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly; Anderson, Bellingham; Saka, Rogers, Rashford; Kane. Head Coach: Tuchel.