The England team won first place in Group L and awaits their opponents in the round of 32 of the World Cup

England have finished top of Group L and will have a World Cup last-32 tie against a team who finished third after a 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday. Two goals from Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane helped England finish the group stage with 7 points, topping the group, while Croatia ranked second with 6 points. Croatia also secured the second automatic spot by beating Ghana 2-1 and will face the top team in Group K.

England must now wait to find out their opponents in the knockout round which takes place on Wednesday at 17:00 BST. They got off to a strong start in the tournament, beating Croatia 4-2, before being held to a goalless draw by Ghana on Tuesday.


England will face one of the eight best third-placed teams, but the distribution of matches depends on the groups that determine the qualifying teams. After Ghana confirmed that it had qualified for the qualifying round with third place in Group L, England only had two opponents left to face - the third-placed team in Group K or Senegal.

If DR Congo beat Uzbekistan in the final Group K match at 00:30 BST on Sunday, England will face the third-placed team in that group. This will almost certainly be DR Congo, unless there is a scenario where Portugal loses by a margin of 7 goals. At this time, the England team will meet Portugal. If DR Congo draws or loses, England will meet Senegal.

The knockout path has now been determined for England to reach the quarter-finals. After DR Congo or Senegal, they will face the winner of Mexico or Ecuador in the last 16 in Mexico City on July 5. A potential quarter-final would take place in Miami on July 11, facing Brazil, Japan, Ivory Coast or Norway.

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