England and Croatia Advance to World Cup Knockout Stage

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The final round of matches in Group L concluded at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, currently being hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with three national teams from the group securing berths in the first knockout round.

In East Rutherford, New Jersey, England earned a 2-0 victory over Panama. The English team controlled the match and scored twice in the second half. Midfielder Jude Bellingham opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, and striker Harry Kane doubled the lead five minutes later. With this goal, Kane brought his career World Cup goal total to 11, becoming England's all-time leading goalscorer at World Cups and surpassing Gary Lineker. Panama failed to earn any points and finished at the bottom of the group table.

In the other group match, played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Croatia defeated Ghana 2-1. Croatia took the lead in the 31st minute through a goal by Petar Sucic. Ghanaian defender Derrick Luckassen equalized midway through the second half, but Nikola Vlasic scored the winning goal for the European side in the 83rd minute.

As a result of these matches, England finished first in Group L with seven points, while Croatia took second place with six points. Despite the defeat, Ghana qualified for the round of 32 from third place with four points. Under the current tournament format, which features 48 teams for the first time, the top two teams from each group and the eight best third-placed teams advance to the knockout stage.