Checkered Ones

2026 FIFA World Cup – Group L Focus

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment
The Group Stage will be 48 teams in 12 groups playing a total of 72 matches to decide the qualifiers for the Round Of 32.

Many of you will be wondering with all these teams and groups, will that World Cup flow normally as it has in the past? FIFA has done a great job of planning the times out on the matches. In the past, it would always be a case that the first second-game of Group A wouldn’t be held until the first-game of the last group was finished playing. Same for the third and final game, Group A wouldn’t play it until all others were done their second-game. FIFA made it work for this. The time span for teams to play their first and second games may have increased from five days to six or seven but FIFA made it work. They even made it work so that all 48 teams and twelve groups will all play their third and last Group Stage match within a period of four days!

So just before you all sit back, relax and enjoy watching the World Cup games, here is my look at the teams of the very last group of FIFA World Cup 2026. Interesting to see that the very first match of the final group will be a rematch of a semifinal of the 2018 World Cup! Anyways enough trivia talk. Here’s my review of World Cup Group L:

-England (4): The last ten years has been a big change about for the Three Lions. For so long, the team was known for being loaded with talent but could not play as a good team unit. Then in 2016 softer an embarrassing Euro, they got a new coach in Gareth Southgate. Under Southgate, the Lions played more like a team unit than they had in decades. In 2018, they made it as far as the World Cup semifinal for only the third time and they also made the Euro final for the first time ever! And they did it twice! It’s not to say they don’t have their own difficulties. The last World Cup, they again found themselves out in the quarterfinals.

After Euro 2024, they hired a German coach, Thomas Tuchel, to be head coach of the team. Under Tuchel, England became the first European team to secure qualification for this World Cup. All but six players play for Premier League teams. Stars include goalkeeper Jordan Pickford from Everton, defender John Stones from Manchester City, midfielder Jordan Henderson from Brentford and striker and captain Harry Kane who plays for Bayern Munich. Their play in the last twelve months have been strong. They’ve had wins against Serbia, New Zealand, Wales and Costa Rica. They had a single draw to Uruguay and losses to Japan and Senegal. Chances are England can deliver one of their best World Cup performances ever in North America.

-Croatia (11): It’s ironic that the US mascot is named Clutch and we have Croatia as the ultimate World Cup clutch-performer! Vatreni or Kockasti have competed in six World Cups since their independence in 1991 and they finished in the Top 3 three times, including the last two! We shouldn’t forget that Croatia has a vulnerable side too. The other three World Cups they competed in, they were out in the Group Stage. Also they have never won a knockout game at the Euro ever. The last Euro was an embarrassment as the team was out in the Group Stage and didn’t even achieve a single win!

The majority of the Croatian team’s coaching staff is Croatian and head coach Zlatko Dalic has been head coach of the team since 2017. Most of the team plays for teams in European leagues. Stars include goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic from Dinamo Zagreb, defender Josko Gvardiol who plays for Manchester City, midfielder and captain Luka Modric who plays for AC Milan and striker Ivan Perisic who plays for PSV Eindhoven. Their play in the last twelve months has been mostly strong. Notable wins include against Colombia, Montenegro and Slovenia. They’ve had a win and a draw against Czechia and they’ve endured losses against Brazil and Belgium. Chances are the chessboard boys could deliver another clutch performance at United 2026.

-Ghana (73): Ghana’s football has come of age this Century. The first World Cup for the Black Stars was back in 2006 and they’ve only missed qualifying once! They’ve made the knockout round twice and even made the quarterfinals in 2010. Their success appeared to take a downturn after 2010. They have not qualified for the knockout round of a World Cup since and their play in the African Cup of Nations since 2017 has been lackluster. In 2025, they didn’t even qualify!

Ghana’s coaching staff come from around the world and their current head coach is Portugal’s Carlos Queiroz who has also coached South Africa, Portugal and Iran at past World Cups. Most of the team’s players play for major teams in Europe and around the world. Top players include goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi who plays for Switzerland’s St. Gallen, defender Abdul Rahman Baba who plays for Greece’s PAOK, midfielder Thomas Partey who plays for Villareal and striker and captain Jordan Ayew who plays for Leicester City. Their play in the last twelve months has been a challenge. They’ve had wins against Mali, Central African Republic and Trinidad And Tobago. They’ve endured draws against Chad and Wales, and their losses include Mexico, Austria, Japan and South Korea. Chances are Ghana can come together here at the World Cup and defy expectations.

-Panama (34): It’s is something how Panama’s second World Cup will have them play their third and last group match in the United States. Especially since the Panama Canal is American-run and American controlled! Nevertheless it will be another chance for Los Canaleros or La Marea Roja to prove themselves on the world stage! They’ve had other opportunities to prove themselves such as being runner-up at the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup and runner-up at last year’s CONCACAF Nations League.

Panama’s coaching staff is a mix of Panamanian and European coaches and the head coach is Spanish/Danish coach Thomas Christiansen. Most of the team’s players play for professional teams throughout the Americas. Top players include goalkeeper Luis Mejia, defender Eric Davis, midfielder and captain Anibal Godoy and striker Jose Fajardo. All of them were part of Panama’s 2018 World Cup team. Their play in the last twelve months has been a mixed showing. Notable wins include against Jamaica, Dominican Republic and twice against El Salvador. They had a win and a draw against South Africa as well as draws against Bosnia, Bolivia and twice against Surinam. Their two losses these past twelve months were to Brazil and Mexico. Chances look good that Panama could take their football status to a whole new level here in North America.

My Qualifier Predictions: This is it. The last group to predict the qualifiers to the knockout round! I predict Croatia to top it with England second. I predict Panama to be third and to qualify via the wildcard system.

And there you have it. There’s my look at Group L of this year’s World Cup! I never thought I would complete my blogs of all twelve groups! Looks like I can even surprise myself!

WORK CITED:
“2026 FIFA World Cup.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2026. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA_World_Cup>

UEFA Euro 2024: Group B Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

It’s crazy how they arrange these groups. Sometimes you wonder how do they organize these draws? Especially if you look at Group B. Of all groups in this Euro, Group B is the one group that can best be called the “group of death.” Look at the roster of teams! Three of them are ranked in FIFA’s most recent Top 10! Not only that but three of those teams were also in Group C in Euro 2012! Coincidence? Hmmm.

For those curious about what happened in 2012, Euro 2012 was a case only the Top 2 qualified. Spain and Italy not only qualified, but they would go on to be the two finalists, which Spain won!

In the meantime, let’s see how the four teams of Group B stack up and which teams will be the qualifiers:

-Spain (8): La Furia Roja may often come across as the World Cup’s greatest underachievers but they do very little underachieving at the Euro. Just like Germany, Spain also has three Euro wins. They were also semi finalists in the previous Euro tournament. They continued their achievements last year as they won the UEFA Nations League. The two Nations League teams they played against last year, Spain will be facing again right here in group play! One thing to point out about Spain is they’ve had a habit of slacking off in the early stages of group play and they can’t afford to do it here!

Spain is currently managed by Luis de la Fuente who has managed the team since their Round Of 16 ouster at the 2022 World Cup. The team is a mix of young and old and most play in Spain’s La Liga. Since then, they’ve had impressive wins over Norway, Italy, and Georgia, drawn against Brazil and Croatia in the Nations League final (which they won on penalty kicks) , had a win and a loss to Scotland and lost to Colombia. Germany is another chance for Spain to excel and possibly win a record-setting fourth Euro trophy!

-Croatia (10): I don’t call Vatreni or The Blazers “the little nation that can” for nothing. A nation under 5 million people and they’ve finished in the Top 3 in three World Cups including third in the most recent World Cup of 2022! Euro play, however, tells a different story. Ever since their existence as their own nation, they’ve qualified for the Euro six out of seven times, they’ve progressed to the knockout round four times, but have never won a knockout match at the Euro. That’s something to take into account.

Croatia has been managed by Zlatko Dalic since 2017. The legendary Luka Modric is the team captain. He will be joined by greats like forward Ivan Perisic, midfielders Mateo Kovacic and Nikola Vlasic and defenders Domagoj Vida and Josko Gvardiol. Their play since the 2022 World Cup has included wins against Netherlands, Armenia, Portugal and Egypt, a win and a loss to Turkey and a draw and a loss to Wales. This Euro is a chance for Croatia to go further than they ever have at the tournament, and even possibly win. Don’t count them out.

-Italy (9): The Gli Azzurri have always been seen as a major powerhouse in football with their superb showings at the Euro and the World Cup. Now they’re an enigma. Ever since they won the World Cup in 2006, they followed it up with two straight outs in the Group Stage and they’ve failed to qualify for the last two World Cups. Their failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup was especially shocking since they won the Euro 2020 eight months earlier and they looked like they were on their way to redeeming themselves.

Since then, the Italian system had to reform itself and they hired Napoli’s Luciano Spalletti as the national coach back in September 2023. The lineup for Italy’s team for the Euro consists of all but three players who play for Italy’s Serie A, eight members who were part of Italy’s Euro-winning team from three years ago and only one from the last World Cup team Italy sent back in 2014! The focus as of late has been getting new talent to rise. Since World Cup 2022 ended, they’ve acquired wins against the Netherlands, Ukraine, Ecuador, Bosnia-Hercegovina and even got revenge against North Macedonia who ended their World Cup 2022 chances! They’ve also had a draw to Turkey and losses to England and Spain. Euro 2024 offers a chance for Italy to redeem itself and regain its reputation as a football great.

-Albania (66): It’s tempting to dismiss the Kuqezinjtë as the weakest link of this group. You shouldn’t jump to conclusions. They’ve won a Euro qualifying game against Portugal in 2014, a friendly against France in 2015, a friendly against Wales in 2018, and both World Cup 2022 qualifying match against Hungary in 2021. Even in their first Euro back in 2016, they achieved a win over Romania. Although they’ve always lost against Italy and Spain and has never played Croatia, history has proven Albania can deliver a shocker. Even their play in the last year helped them move from a C status in UFEA’s Nations League to a B status.

Maybe their recent success is because since the very beginning of 2023, they’ve been coached by a Brazilian: Sylvinho. His coaching has led the team to five wins in eleven games and qualifying for only their second Euro. None of Albania’s team play in teams in their own country and most play in teams for Italy’s Serie A. They’ve achieved wins against Bulgaria, Azerbaijan and the Faroe Islands, a win and a draw to Czechia and Moldova, a win and a loss to Poland, and a loss to Sweden. Germany 2024 is an opportunity for Albania to deliver a shocker of a result and even qualify. Never rule Albania out!

My Predictions: The crazy thing about a group called “Group Of Death” is that eventually predictors will still have to rank first from fourth. It will be a close one which I feel will have the most draws. In the end, I will have to go with recent Nation’s League action and I feel Spain will top, Croatia will be second. Italy will be third but will have enough points and stats to qualify.

And there you go. That’s my look at the four teams of Euro 2024’s Group B. It may be seen by most as the “group of death,” but don’t rule out the other groups. They could have tight rivals too.