England v Panama: Prediction, team news, lineups and odds | OneFootball

The good news for England in World Cup 2026 is that they’ve beaten their main group rivals and now just need to bank three more points against the weakest of the four teams to secure top spot.

The bad news is that so far they’ve played just one good half of football. Or do we have to say two quarters now? That was the second 45 of their opening 4-2 win against Croatia which they followed up with a rather deflating 0-0 stalemate with Ghana.

As for Saturday’s group rivals, Panama are already going home. They were pipped 1-0 by the Ghanaians in their opener and, despite producing some bright moments, also lost by that same margin to Croatia on Wednesday night.

England v Panama kick-off time

England v Panama kicks off at 10pm BST (4pm local) on Saturday, June 27 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

England v Panama how to watch

The game will be shown live in the UK on ITV1, with coverage starting at 8.45pm.

BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT will both provide full match commentary.

England team news

Thomas Tuchel has some decisions to make with England still potentially having six more fixtures in this World Cup.

Arsenal duo Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have both been playing with injuries so this would be an obvious game to give them a rest. The same applies to full-back Reece James, who complained of a tight hamstring against Ghana.

Djed Spence could replace James, allowing Nico O’Reilly to return to left-back after the Manchester City man only featured as a substitute in the draw with Ghana.

Kobbie Mainoo could make his World Cup debut if Rice is rested, while Anthony Gordon’s position on the left is under threat after two modest performances so far.

Panama team news

Panama skipper Anibal Godoy has only managed a single minute due to fitness concerns but could play a bigger part in their final game.

Adalberto Carrasquilla’s absence in both matches has caused consternation among Panama fans but it’s since been revealed that he’s carrying an injury considered worse than originally thought.

Boss Thomas Christiansen will set his team up in a 5-4-1 so again the emphasis will be on England to break an organised opposition down, something the Three Lions couldn’t manage against Ghana.

England v Panama odds

England are just 1/6 to return to winning ways after being held goalless by Ghana. The draw was 5/1 in that game, while it’s 13/2 here. Panama are 14/1 to get their first win at a World Cup.

The Three Lions are 1/10 to top the group, with Croatia 7/1 and Ghana 20s.

In the outright betting, England were cut to 11/2 second favourites after their opening win, but drifted back out to 8/1 fourth best after the Ghana draw.

England v Panama prediction

England thrashed Panama 6-1 when they met in World Cup 2018 and a repeat of such a scoreline is 50/1.

That seems wildly optimistic given what happened against Ghana as England fired blanks despite having just under 79% possession.

But the Three Lions seem to have a habit of dipping in their second match in big tournaments and the good news here is that England have a clear incentive: topping the group.

If successful, that will set them up against a third-placed team and then on course to meet co-hosts Mexico in the last 16.

While they had the odd difficult moment against Ghana, the clean sheet was their 13th in 16 games under Tuchel.

Therefore, back England to win to nil at 20/23.

Nico O’Reilly had a header saved against Croatia and then hit the bar against Ghana after coming off the bench so he’s definitely one of England’s attacking weapons in the box rather than a left-back who just defends and gets in the odd cross.

The 5/2 for O’Reilly to have Over 0.5 Shots on Target looks a bet well worth having.