2026 World Cup: England Struggles for Just an Hour. Croatia Advances to the Round of 16

England finished first in Group L of the 2026 World Cup thanks to a 2-0 victory over Panama on the final day of the group stage. In New York, Thomas Tuchel’s team struggled for over an hour against a disciplined and compact opponent, but found the breakthrough in the second half thanks to its star players. In the 62nd minute, Jude Bellingham broke the deadlock with a splendid left-footed volley off a corner kick taken by Bukayo Saka. Five minutes later, the Real Madrid midfielder played the role of provider, setting up Harry Kane, who headed home the second goal to reach 11 World Cup goals, surpassing Gary Lineker on England’s all-time World Cup scoring list.

In the closing minutes, the Three Lions came close to scoring a third goal but lacked the finishing touch in front of the net. Deep into stoppage time, Panama came within a hair’s breadth of scoring what would have been its first-ever World Cup goal, but Nelson’s goal was ruled out for offside. England thus finished the group stage undefeated with seven points and secured a spot in the Round of 16, where they will face one of the best third-place finishers. For Panama, however, the tournament ends without any points or goals scored.

Croatia finished behind England, defeating Ghana 2-1 in Philadelphia to claim second place in the group. The Croatians took the lead in the 31st minute thanks to Inter midfielder Petar Sucic, who found the corner with a long-range shot. The Africans responded and equalized in the 73rd minute through Luckassen following a set piece. The tie, however, lasted just nine minutes: a corner kick taken by Luka Modric led to Nikola Vlasic’s winning header, which gave Croatia the victory and direct qualification to the knockout stage.

Despite the loss, Ghana also advances in the tournament by qualifying as one of the best third-place finishers.