Ghana have Partey back and a point to prove against England. Our World Cup 2026 predictions for the Group L heavyweight, plus the betting angle.
World Cup Preview: Ghana Get England’s Big Test
Today is where Group K and Group L stop flirting with danger and start making people sweat properly.
Portugal need a response after drawing with DR Congo.
Colombia can put one foot into the knockouts if they beat the Leopards.
England and Ghana both won their openers, so their meeting is the day’s real heavyweight game: win, and the Round of 32 starts looking very close.
Lose, and suddenly Croatia or Panama start sniffing around the table like unpaid debt collectors.
For Africa, this is serious business. Ghana get England, and DR Congo get Colombia.
One can shake Group L. The other can turn Group K into a full-blown argument.
This is not the day for “respectable performance” speeches. Points, please.
Portugal vs Uzbekistan — Group K — Houston Stadium
Portugal drew 1-1 with DR Congo, which is exactly the kind of result that makes a squad full of stars start hearing “overrated” from every corner of the internet.
They are not in crisis, but they are under pressure to make this look like Portugal again.
Uzbekistan lost 3-1 to Colombia in their World Cup debut. Fabio Cannavaro wants more fight, more structure and less loose defending. Fair enough.
But asking a debutant team to find stability against Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leao and Cristiano Ronaldo is not a friendly request. It is basically homework with fire on it.
Portugal cannot qualify or get knocked out today, but a win puts them back in control before Colombia.
Lose or draw again, and suddenly that final match becomes far too dramatic for a team that already has enough Ronaldo noise.
Projected Portugal XI: Diogo Costa; Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Goncalo Inacio, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes; Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Leao.
Projected Uzbekistan XI: Utkir Yusupov; Abdukodir Khusanov, Abdulla Abdullaev, Rustamjon Ashurmatov; Bekhruz Karimov, Otabek Shukurov, Akmal Mozgovoy, Sherzod Nasrullaev; Abbosbek Fayzullaev, Oston Urunov; Eldor Shomurodov.
Key absences/team news: Portugal have Tomas Araujo dropping out, with Ruben Dias back after sitting out the opener through a fitness issue.
Roberto Martinez has defended Ronaldo and kept his starting XI under wraps.
Uzbekistan have no major new absence reported, but Cannavaro wants a sharper reaction after the Colombia defeat.
Prediction: Portugal 3-0 Uzbekistan.
Tip: Portugal to win — take Ronaldo anytime scorer or the -2 handicap for value, with a wounded Portugal chasing a statement after the DR Congo embarrassment.
England vs Ghana — Group L — Boston Stadium
This is the biggest game of the day. England beat Croatia 4-2. Ghana beat Panama 1-0.
Win here, and either side can move close to the knockouts, maybe even start eyeing top spot depending on what happens later between Panama and Croatia.
England looked brilliant and messy in the same match against Croatia, which is very England of them.
Thomas Tuchel called the defensive performance a wake-up call, and he was right. Scoring four is nice.
Conceding two and looking open against a serious team is the kind of thing that follows you into the next press conference.
Ghana are not Croatia.
They will not try to control the match with Modric-style tempo. They will run. They will counter.
They will make England defend space, not just the ball. Antoine Semenyo, Ernest Nuamah and Kamaldeen Sulemana have the legs to make England uncomfortable if Tuchel’s team lose structure.
Thomas Partey is back after missing the Panama win because of travel issues, and that changes Ghana’s midfield confidence.
The Black Stars still need more final-third ruthlessness, but beating Panama without being perfect has given them a platform. Against England, the platform needs teeth.
For Ghana, this is not about being brave against a big name.
They have been to enough World Cups to stop collecting applause for effort.
If they get a result here, Group L becomes Ghana’s business too.
Projected England XI: Jordan Pickford; Reece James, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly; Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson; Anthony Gordon, Jude Bellingham, Noni Madueke; Harry Kane.
Projected Ghana XI: Benjamin Asare; Senaya, Jonas Adjetey, Jerome Opoku, Gideon Mensah; Thomas Partey, Caleb Yirenkyi; Ernest Nuamah, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Antoine Semenyo; Brandon Thomas-Asante.
Key absences/team news: England have no injury problems, with Bukayo Saka back in full training but likely to start on the bench and Noni Madueke favoured on the right. Declan Rice is available despite managing discomfort. Ghana have Partey back and ready to play after missing the opener, while Mohammed Kudus remains unavailable with a quad and hamstring issue.
Prediction: England 2-1 Ghana.
Tip: England to win and both teams to score — England have more match-winners, but Ghana’s transition pace can punish that defence if Tuchel has not fixed the chaos.
Panama vs Croatia — Group L — Toronto Stadium
Both teams lost their openers, so this is already survival football. Panama lost 1-0 to Ghana.
Croatia lost 4-2 to England. Lose here, and depending on England-Ghana, the exit door starts opening before the final match.
Croatia have the experience, the midfield brains and the scar tissue.
They have been in ugly tournament spots before and still found a way to drag themselves out. That is not romance.
That is what happens when your midfield has lived through more pressure than most squads can spell.
Panama will scrap, and they will try to turn this into a physical mess. But they need more than organisation.
They need a goal. So far, they have looked short of the clean attacking quality required to hurt teams that sit in and manage games properly.
Projected Panama XI: Orlando Mosquera; Jiovany Ramos, Jose Cordoba, Andres Andrade; Michael Murillo, Anibal Godoy, Cristian Martinez, Eric Davis; Yoel Barcenas, Ismael Diaz, Cecilio Waterman.
Projected Croatia XI: Dominik Livakovic; Josip Stanisic, Josip Sutalo, Luka Vuskovic, Josko Gvardiol; Mateo Kovacic, Luka Modric, Petar Sucic; Martin Baturina, Ivan Perisic; Andrej Kramaric.
Key absences/team news: Panama could tweak their attack after failing to score against Ghana, with Cecilio Waterman leading the line and top scorer Ismael Diaz pushing for involvement.
Croatia may keep Martin Baturina in after his goal against England, while Kramaric is expected to feature centrally as Dalic looks to tighten a defence that shipped four.
Prediction: Panama 0-2 Croatia.
Tip: Croatia to win — their midfield class should tell, though that leaky defence makes a Panama goal live, so both teams to score is the value alternative.
Colombia vs DR Congo — Group K — Guadalajara
This is the other African match, and it might be the sneaky chaos game of the night.
Colombia beat Uzbekistan 3-1 and can clinch a Round of 32 place with a win. DR Congo drew 1-1 with Portugal, so they are not here to clap for reputations.
Colombia are dangerous because they have real final-third variety. Luis Diaz can burn you wide.
James Rodriguez can still find the pass nobody else sees. Jhon Arias gives movement. Luis Suarez gives the box presence.
If DR Congo defend too deep for too long, Colombia will start knocking until something breaks.
But DR Congo have already shown what they are about.
They stayed compact against Portugal, survived pressure and punished a lapse.
Yoane Wissa and Cedric Bakambu are not decorative forwards.
They run channels, fight defenders and make chaos feel planned.
Colombia can qualify tonight. DR Congo cannot qualify or be eliminated yet, but a result here would change everything before they face Uzbekistan.
For the Leopards, this is where the Portugal point either becomes a foundation or gets downgraded to a nice memory.
Projected Colombia XI: Camilo Vargas; Daniel Munoz, Davinson Sanchez, Jhon Lucumi, Johan Mojica; Jefferson Lerma, Gustavo Puerta, Jhon Arias; James Rodriguez, Luis Diaz, Luis Suarez.
Projected DR Congo XI: Lionel Mpasi; Axel Tuanzebe, Chancel Mbemba, Sikou Kapuadi; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Noah Sadiki, Samuel Moutoussamy, Arthur Masuaku; Nathanael Mbuku; Yoane Wissa, Cedric Bakambu.
Key absences/team news: Colombia have no reported injury or suspension issue affecting their first-choice plans.
DR Congo also have no player listed on the injury table, and are expected to keep their compact 3-5-2 shape, though Mbemba must be careful on a yellow card carried from the Portugal game.
Prediction: Colombia 2-1 DR Congo.
Tip: Both teams to score — Colombia have more quality, but DR Congo have already shown they can hurt a favourite that gets careless; DR Congo double chance is the braver African value play.
Banker Of The Day
Portugal to beat Uzbekistan. The cleanest call. Portugal need a response, Uzbekistan are still learning this level, and Ruben Dias returning should calm the back line.
Upset Special
DR Congo to score against Colombia. Colombia should win, but the Leopards have enough transition threat to turn one loose Colombian pass into panic. Wissa and Bakambu are not passengers.
For Africa, today is serious. Ghana can make Group L listen. DR Congo can make Group K misbehave.
The continent does not need pity paragraphs. It needs teams that make favourites uncomfortable and leave with something.
Back any of these? Tell me what you're rolling with today.
18+. Bet responsibly. Odds and team news correct at the time of writing.
