The 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway! The first matches of Group L begin on June 17th and continue through June 27th. England is the favorite to win the group, while Croatia is a dark horse to take the top spot. Ghana is an underrated team that could make some noise and get out of the group, while Panama is a longshot to make it to the knockout stage.
Group L Preview, Odds
Here’s a look at the odds to win Group L on the DraftKings Sportsbook:
England Preview
This is a massive World Cup for England. Gareth Southgate delivered a few strong international tournaments in a row for the Three Lions and brought real stability to the national team. However, he was never able to get it done in the biggest of matches. England made a change at manager after nearly a decade with Southgate in charge. They turned to former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel to try to take them to that next level. England has a great squad with some very talented players, but only time will tell if Tuchel’s management style will be a positive or negative for this group.
Croatia Preview
Croatia has an incredible recent history at the World Cup. They made it to the World Cup Final in 2018 and to the semifinals in 2022. Zlatko Dalic is still in charge of the national team, as he was for both of those amazing runs. The core of this team is still intact but has aged significantly since that run to the final in 2018. Luka Modric is still the heart and soul of this team, but he is now 40 years old. Ivan Perisic ranks second all-time in goals and appearances for Croatia, but he is now 37 years old. Even Manchester City’s Mateo Kovacic is now 32 years old. However, there are some exciting young players on the team as well, such as Josko Gvardiol and Josip Stanisic. It would be remarkable if this team had one more big run in them with Luka Modric wearing the armband.
Ghana Preview
Ghana should be an exciting team to watch in this tournament. There are some high-profile names in the attacking group for Ghana, including Tottenham’s Mohammed Kudus, Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo and Leicester City’s Abdul Fatawu Issahaku and Jordan Ayew. Ghana has made noise at the World Cup before. They qualified for the first time in 2006 and successfully made it out of the group by defeating the USA. Ghana once again beat the USA in dramatic fashion at the 2010 World Cup to move on to the quarterfinals. They have really struggled at the last two World Cups that they qualified for, but this attacking group could make some noise in this campaign.
Panama Preview
This is Panama’s second-ever trip to the World Cup. They last qualified in 2018, where they lost all three matches in the group stage. Thomas Christiansen will be hoping for a more positive result this time around, but this is a very tough group to be in. There are very dangerous forward players on all three of their opponents that could score goals in bunches if Panama does not come prepared. San Diego FC midfielder Anibal Godoy captains this Panama squad. Meanwhile, Jose Fajardo and Puma Rodriguez are the main goal threats for Panama.
Group L Predictions
Group L Winner
England is the worthy favorite in this group. On paper, they have the deepest and most talented team. However, the real value on the betting board is on Croatia to win this group. In 2018, Croatia was an underdog to Argentina in their group, but they beat Argentina 3-0 head-to-head and won the group in nearly flawless fashion. In 2022, Croatia played two 0-0 draws in the group stage and ended up finishing in second place, but then went on a run to the semifinals. They have the same manager and core of players that led the way on those amazing runs. This is a very experienced group that can create some magic in the group stage. With the questions around Thomas Tuchel and his squad selection, Croatia is the more reliable team, making them a great bet to win the group at +350.
Group L to Qualify for Knockout
England is almost a guarantee to make it to the knockout rounds. At -500, Croatia is also strongly favored to make the next stage of the tournament. At -155, even Ghana is expected to make it to the next stage. There will be eight third-place teams that make the next round in this expanded field World Cup. Ghana has a great chance to score enough goals to be one of those eight teams. At -155, I would back them to make it out of the group. Unfortunately, it’s hard to imagine Panama making it out with such stiff competition in the group.
Group L Top Goalscorers
The only two players among the top 18 on the odds board for the World Cup Golden Boot are England’s Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka. Harry Kane is one of the best goalscorers in the world and is England’s all-time leading goalscorer. Kane is coming off the best season of his career at Bayern Munich and should be in for a big tournament. Only Kylian Mbappe has better odds than Kane to win the Golden Boot at the 2026 World Cup. While Ghana has some exciting attacking players, they are vulnerable at the back. Panama is also lacking quality defensively. Harry Kane has a chance to notch a few goals in the group stage in his current form. It’s hard to see him not being the top goalscorer in this group.
