Panama vs England FIFA World Cup 2026 Preview: Everything you need to know

World Cup - Grp. L

New York/New Jersey Stadium

Panama vs England will kick off on 27 Jun 2026 at 17:00 EST and 21:00 GMT.

Match context

Panama is one of five teams already eliminated from the World Cup. England has four points from two outings and can guarantee top spot in Group L with a win here.

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The World Cup story so far for Panama and England

Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions haven't looked altogether convincing after a 4-2 win over Croatia and a 0-0 stalemate with Ghana. Tuchel has plenty of selection headaches to ponder in wide areas. He may opt to bring Nico O'Reilly back in on the left-hand side of defence, while Marcus Rashford is an option higher up on that flank. On the right, Arsenal star Noni Madueke should continue in the place of clubmate Bukayo Saka, who continues to struggle with an ongoing achilles issue. Up top, England's hopes rest on talismanic striker Harry Kane, who boasts an astonishing tally of 81 goals in 116 caps.

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Panama will set out to frustrate England in a 5-4-1 shape. Consecutive 1-0 defeats to Ghana and Croatia prove that the Panamanians will never be whipping boys. Despite dominating possession and creating more chances in their match against Ghana, they couldn't convert, and they paid the ultimate price, conceding a painful 95th-minute goal.

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Likely XIs

Panama: Mosquera; Murillo, Ramos, Córdoba, Andrade, Blackman; Martínez, Harvey, Barcenas, Rodríguez; Fajardo.

England: Pickford; James, Konsa, Guehi, O'Reilly; Anderson, Rice; Madueke, Bellingham, Rashford; Kane.

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Panama's 26-man squad

Goalkeepers: Orlando Mosquera, Luis Mejia, Cesar Samudio.

Defenders: Cesar Blackman, Jorge Gutierrez, Amir Murillo, Fidel Escobar, Andres Andrade, Edgardo Farina, Jose Cordoba, Eric Davis, Jiovany Ramos, Roderick Miller.

Midfielders: Anibal Godoy, Adalberto Carrasquilla, Carlos Harvey, Cristian Martinez, Jose Luis Rodriguez, Cesar Yanis, Yoel Barcenas, Alberto Quintero, Azarias Londono.

Forwards: Ismael Diaz, Cecilio Waterman, Jose Fajardo, Tomas Rodriguez.

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England's 26-man squad

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Manchester City)

Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Marc Guehi (Manchester City), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham), John Stones (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)

Forwards: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona on loan from Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).

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Team news & squads

Panama vs England Probable lineups

Panama

PAN

Formation

England

ENG

England

ENG

Manager

• T. Christiansen

Thomas Christiansen has not confirmed a probable starting lineup for Panama ahead of this fixture, and no injuries or suspensions have been officially listed at this stage. Updates will be added closer to kick-off as team news emerges.

Thomas Tuchel is in a similar position for England, with no confirmed lineup, injuries, or suspensions currently available in the data. Tuchel has had the benefit of a largely fit squad throughout the group stage, though Declan Rice has been managing nerve pain since December. Team news for both sides will be updated as it is confirmed.

Form

Panama head into this fixture with a record of two wins, one draw, and two losses across their last five matches. Their most recent outing was a 1-0 defeat to Ghana in the World Cup on June 17. Prior to that, they drew 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina before beating the Dominican Republic 4-2 in friendlies. A 6-2 loss to Brazil was the low point of that run, while a 2-1 win over South Africa provides some encouragement. Panama scored nine goals and conceded ten across those five matches.

England's recent form is considerably stronger. Their last five matches produced three wins, one draw, and one defeat. The most recent outing was a 4-2 World Cup victory over Croatia on June 17, which followed back-to-back friendly wins over Costa Rica (3-0) and New Zealand (1-0). Their only defeat in that run was a 1-0 loss to Japan in March, with a 1-1 draw against Uruguay also on the record. England scored nine goals and conceded four across those five games.

Head-to-Head Record

PAN

Last match

ENG

0

Wins

0

Draws

1

Win

• England

  6

  -

  1

  Panama

1

Goals scored

6

Games over 2.5 goals

1/1

Both teams scored

1/1

The head-to-head record between these sides contains just one previous meeting. England beat Panama 6-1 in a World Cup group stage fixture on June 24, 2018, with England the home side in that encounter. That single meeting represents the only confirmed fixture between these two nations in the available dataset.

Standings

In Group L, England currently sit first and Panama third after the opening rounds of fixtures.