In a 48-team World Cup that has largely ironed out the traditional group of death, analysts have pointed to one group that still qualifies: Group L. England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama. Ghana’s draw looked difficult enough when it landed in December. Since then it has got harder — four straight losses, a coach sacked 72 days before the tournament, and a former international publicly warning that the squad doesn’t have a settled starting XI.
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The Group of Death Label
The expanded format was supposed to make group stages more forgiving. Mostly it has. Group L is the exception. England arrive as back-to-back European Championship runners-up. Under Thomas Tuchel they went eight from eight in World Cup qualifying, keeping a clean sheet in every game — the first European nation ever to do so. Croatia, despite an ageing core, reached the 2018 World Cup final and the 2022 semi-finals — Luka Modric, who turns 41 during the tournament, won the 2018 World Cup Golden Ball and is almost certainly playing his final World Cup.
Then there’s Panama. Easy on paper, less so in practice. They topped their CONCACAF qualifying group, reached the finals of both the 2023 Gold Cup and the 2025 CONCACAF Nations League. Thomas Christiansen has built a disciplined, tactically compact side with genuine tournament experience — Aníbal Godoy has more than 150 caps, while Alberto Quintero and Eric Davis have both surpassed 100 appearances for Panama. Panama are not a free three points for anyone.
Multiple outlets have called Group L the closest thing to a group of death in this edition of the tournament.
For Ghana, that framing matters. It means the Panama game on June 17 — the one fixture they are expected to win — carries enormous weight. Drop points there and the path out of the group closes fast.
Asamoah’s Warning and Why It Carries Weight
Into this draw steps a Ghana side in visible transition. Otto Addo was sacked in March following four straight losses. Carlos Queiroz — former coach of Real Madrid, Portugal, and Iran — has taken charge and is expected to name his final squad on June 1, just over two weeks before the Panama opener.
Kwadwo Asamoah, speaking to 3Sports and reported across GhanaWeb, delivered the bluntest public assessment of the current setup: “To build a team needs time. With our national team now, I don’t think we really have a starting XI. Today, it’s a new team, another time, another different team. And then having a new coach won’t be easy for him.”
He also told 3Sports: “From my experience, building a cohesive team requires significant time. Even with our current national setup, I don’t think we have a settled starting eleven. Back in the day, you could easily name seven players who were guaranteed to start.”
Asamoah’s credibility here is specific. He was part of the 2010 squad that reached the quarter-finals — still Ghana’s best World Cup performance — and spent six seasons at Juventus winning consecutive Serie A titles alongside Chiellini and Buffon. He knows what a settled, tournament-ready squad looks like. His read is that the 2026 group doesn’t have one.
GFA president Kurt Okraku has separately acknowledged that injuries to key players are “worrying” — a rare piece of institutional candour that reinforces rather than contradicts Asamoah’s concern.
The Injury Problem
The player the market cares most about is Mohammed Kudus. Ghana’s primary creative force, he has been sidelined with a serious quad injury since early January 2026 and is a major doubt for the June 17 opener.
Antoine Semenyo — who joined Manchester City from Bournemouth for £64m in January after a standout Premier League season — provides a genuine attacking option if fit and in form. Jordan Ayew captains the side with experience. Iñaki Williams and Kamaldeen Sulemana add width. But the drop-off from that starting core to what sits behind it is the exact vulnerability Asamoah is describing. In a group stage where games arrive every four to five days, a squad without genuine depth gets found out.
Ghana’s World Cup Record in Context
Ghana have qualified for five of the last six World Cups — only missing Russia 2018 — which puts them among Africa’s most consistent tournament sides. The 2010 run to the quarter-finals in South Africa was the high-water mark: a squad with Gyan, Muntari, and Asamoah himself, with real depth across all positions. The 2014 and 2022 editions both ended in group-stage exits.
Based on everything Asamoah has said, the 2026 squad has more in common with those editions than with 2010.
What the Markets Say
The Group Forecast market prices Group L clearly. England topping the group is the base case. The real question is second place — and the market gives England/Ghana (4.01) meaningful odds while rating England/Croatia (1.83) as the far more likely outcome. Croatia/Ghana at 29.1 and Ghana/Croatia at 51.3 reflect just how long the odds are on Ghana finishing above Croatia.
Ghana’s outright elimination odds — available in Cloudbet’s World Cup markets shown below — tell a similar story. The market is not completely writing Ghana off; a Round of 16 appearance is live at meaningful odds. But the base case is an early exit, and Asamoah’s comments, the coaching transition, and the Kudus injury question all point in the same direction.
Africa as a continent is priced at 31.1 to produce the tournament winner — behind Europe at 1.28 and South America at 4.01. Ghana at 248 to win the whole thing reflects exactly where the market places an African side navigating a group of this weight with the squad questions that currently exist.
The Bottom Line
Ghana’s June 17 opener against Panama in Toronto is the tournament in miniature. Win it and the group stage remains open. Drop points and the margin for error against England and Croatia disappears entirely.
The Group of Death label is a media frame, but it’s earned in this case. England are serious contenders. Croatia are a tournament team by design. Panama are better than their billing. And Ghana arrive with a new coach, an injury crisis, and a former international publicly saying they don’t have a starting XI.
Check the latest Group L odds and Ghana’s elimination markets on Cloudbet — live betting runs across all group-stage fixtures from June 11.
