Group L

England's Group to Lose

Venues: Dallas, Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia, East Rutherford (New York/New Jersey)

The Group

On paper, Group L is England's to lose. Thomas Tuchel's side were one of only two teams to win every UEFA qualifier while conceding zero goals, and the outright market has them priced at 8/1 to lift the trophy, third favourites behind Spain and France. The opener against Croatia in Dallas on June 17 is the real test. Luka Modrić, now 40 and at AC Milan, captains the Vatreni for a record-equalling sixth World Cup, and Zlatko Dalić's side topped their European qualifying group with seven wins from eight. Croatia's midfield, Modrić bossing tempo, Kovačić winning the ball, is still the best over-35 engine room in international football. Joško Gvardiol is back after a broken shin, which restores their defensive backbone. Ghana arrive in genuine disarray. Otto Addo was sacked in March after a 5-1 thumping by Austria and a 2-1 loss to Germany, and new boss Carlos Queiroz had barely a few weeks to stamp his identity on the squad. They also failed to qualify for AFCON for the first time in 21 years, which tells you everything about their recent trajectory. Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City) is a real handful in the box and Mohammed Kudus would have been dangerous, except Kudus is injured and misses the tournament entirely. Panama are not just making up the numbers. Under Thomas Christiansen they have climbed from 81st to 33rd in the FIFA rankings, but at this level they are outgunned. Qualification would be a near-miracle. England win the group. Croatia sneak second. Ghana and Panama scrap for third, and our money is on Ghana edging it, just, if Queiroz steadies the defensive ship fast enough.