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Get the expert analysis on England's World Cup draw. We dive deep into the stats, history, and players to watch from Panama and Ghana. Find out everything you need to know about the Three Lions' first hurdle in the tournament.
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00:00An expanded 48-team World Cup means England have even less of an excuse for failing to
00:04get out of the group stage.
00:05It's happened three times before, 1950, 1958 and 2014.
00:10But for the most part, England have been big hitters on the World Cup stage, going deep
00:14in tournament football but ultimately always falling short in the modern era.
00:18If the unthinkable happens this summer, it'll be utter chaos.
00:21The newspaper columnists will be sharpening their quills and calling for Thomas Tuchel's
00:25head.
00:25But it won't happen.
00:27It can't.
00:27And don't go all Nick McCarthy here and tell me…
00:30It can.
00:31Of course, it can.
00:32But are Panama, Ghana and Croatia going to put up enough of a fight to thwart Tommy T's
00:37unbeaten and qualifying Euro 2024 finalists?
00:40Really?
00:41I'm Joe Donoghue, I write for 442 and lead our Boys A Bit Special young player scouting
00:45series, which you should check out, I don't know why you haven't yet.
00:49And I've got the lowdown on the three lines, three group stage opponents.
00:53Roderick gets scores!
00:55Panama's going to the World Cup!
00:56To begin with, I'm going to talk about the opponent you probably know least about.
01:00Panama.
01:00It's got the canal, a skyline that's been dubbed the Dubai of Latin America, take note
01:05influencers.
01:06Pristine islands and beaches, gap yards, incredible biodiversity and historically it's where the
01:11wealthy would put their money if they didn't want to pay any tax on it, which is everyone
01:16rich ever.
01:17Football it's not so well known for.
01:19Los Canaleros, literal translation the canal men, are 33rd in the FIFA World Rankings, which
01:25is higher than Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, which is quite remarkable really.
01:30They've never won a major trophy, but have reached the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on
01:33three previous occasions, that's North America and the Caribbean's version of the Euros, and
01:38qualified for the World Cup once before, in 2018.
01:40Where, you might remember, they met England, lost 6-1, and Jesse Lingard Millie rocked.
01:46Now this is unconfirmed because I am no seismologist, I believe that's the correct term.
01:51But when Panama scored their first goal at the World Cup in that same game, despite being
01:566-0 down, the celebrations were picked up on local seismographs as an artificial earthquake.
02:01So, they like their football, they've just not been very good at it.
02:05As you might expect, the Panamanian league isn't the best either.
02:08And for that reason, only two of the players in their 26-man squad currently play their
02:12football at home.
02:13They do have players whose club sides are all over the world though.
02:17Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, Honduras, Costa Rica, Turkey, Russia, Venezuela, Slovakia,
02:23Israel, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and Norwich City.
02:27His name's Jose Cordoba, for those wondering, and he's a left back.
02:30The Panama squad, on the whole, could be the oldest at the 2026 World Cup.
02:34In fact, there's quite a few of these lads who played against England 8 years ago.
02:3813 of their players are aged 30 or older, which includes all three goalkeepers, two 35-year-olds,
02:43captain Anibal Godoy, 36, and real old-timer Alberto Quintero, 38 years young.
02:49Probably remembers the canal getting built, he does.
02:52Ones to watch.
02:53I can't honestly say I've seen any of these players before, except for that previous England
02:56encounter, but I'd recommend knowing about the likes of Fidel Escobar, because that's
03:01one hell of a name.
03:02Amir Murillo, because it sounds a bit like that Peter Kay song from 20 years ago.
03:06And he's played for Marseille and electing Besiktas.
03:09There's also Eric Davis, 35, spent eight years of his career in Slovakia, has over 100 caps,
03:14and now plays for the Panamanian champs, Plaza Amador, who are probably the equivalent of a good
03:19national league side.
03:20Now, it's been said about me on a football pitch that I will run, but I'm not talented.
03:25And I get the feeling we're going to get much of the same from Panama.
03:28Lo siento lads, prove me wrong.
03:33But if none of those names pricked your ears up too much, then a few from the rest of the
03:37group
03:37are sure to.
03:38And that's because England find themselves alongside Ghana, a team who have appeared at
03:42four of the last five World Cups, and it's safe to say our modern African footballing heritage.
03:46In 2006, their first appearance, they had Michael Essien, Solomon Tari, and Asamoah Adjian.
03:51Four years later, they went all the way to the quarters before Luis Suarez's cruel handball on the line
03:56stopped them becoming the first African country to make the semis.
03:59Since then, they've won just once in six attempts, all of which in the group stage.
04:04This current Ghana side has a real mix of youth and experience.
04:07Their preparations for this tournament have obviously been affected by the absence of Mohamed Kudus,
04:11who would undoubtedly be the Black Stars' star name if he weren't injured.
04:15Of course, though, there is Antoine Semenyo, coming off the back of the season of his life
04:20with Bournemouth and Manchester City, as well as the experienced striker Iñaki Williams of
04:24Athletic Club in Spain.
04:25They've also got Jordan Ayew, Abdul Fatawu, who's been no stranger to the sublime and spectacular
04:30whilst with Leicester, and Kamaldin Sulemana, who on his day can cause you problems from the wing.
04:35My issue with this Ghana group is, where are the goals coming from?
04:39Semenyo somehow has just three international goals in 34 caps.
04:43Surely an anomaly, right? You can't stop scoring at club level.
04:46It's the same story for Iñaki Williams, though. 25 caps and two goals.
04:50Even Fatawu. 27 caps, only three goals.
04:54Prior to their final warm-up friendly against Wales, Ghana had lost each of their last five games.
04:59Against South Korea, Japan, Austria, Germany and Mexico.
05:02You know, the sorts of teams you're going to come up against at the World Cup.
05:05They've not been very good lately, they're not in form, and they even missed out on qualifying for AFCON,
05:10finishing bottom of their qualification group with no wins from six, behind Angola, Sudan and Niger.
05:16There's also a one to watch in Caleb Iñaki, purely from a transfers perspective.
05:20Scouts that I speak to in the game have mentioned him on several occasions,
05:23saying he's got the tools to one day become a future Premier League player.
05:27Iñaki is a great athlete and does it all in the middle of the park.
05:30Wins possession, plays passes, tackles, hassles opponents. He's a useful grafter to have in year 11.
05:35Which is why, for Ghana, he's often played at right back.
05:38But is that alone going to be enough to trouble this England team?
05:41I think we all know the answer to that.
05:43But you came to this channel for something different and,
05:45hopefully, nobody else has picked out the Danish Superliga youngster in their pre-World Cup analysis.
05:50What do you mean the Athletic have done an exclusive with his grandmother?
05:53Now, if you've made it this far into the video and you're thinking,
05:56yeah, England have got a shot here, hold your horses.
05:58Because there's an old English World Cup foe lurking.
06:01Video aside for a second, here's a hypothetical question for you.
06:05Imagine you're on your holidays during the World Cup.
06:07Or travelling somewhere for work and you can't get your World Cup fix.
06:11You've got your TV licence sorted to watch the BBC coverage in the UK, but not abroad.
06:15So what do you do?
06:16Well, our office friends at Tom's Guide have the answer.
06:19Because they've tested a wide range of VPNs and Norton VPN stands out as a strong option.
06:24Fast, reliable, and it comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
06:28Enough to cover the entire World Cup.
06:30So you can try it risk-free.
06:32The best bit?
06:33For all 442 viewers, there is an exclusive offer available.
06:37All you have to do is click the link in the description to learn more.
06:42We all know about England vs Croatia.
06:44Wayne Rooney at Euro 2004.
06:47Gary Neville's own goal in Zagreb.
06:49Sol Campbell's never-ending slide tackle.
06:51The wally with the brolly.
06:52Kieran Trippier's free kick.
06:53Mario Mandzukic.
06:55Kane not squaring it to Sterling.
06:57We all know about England vs Croatia.
06:59It's not great history from a three-lines perspective.
07:01But at least England have beaten Croatia at a major tournament,
07:04more recently than that semi-final out in Russia.
07:07Sod's law on all that, that in a 48-team World Cup,
07:10where the collective strength of the group is poorer than ever,
07:12England would draw a team who knocked them out in a World Cup semi-final.
07:15There won't be Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic this time around though.
07:19Actually, there will be Ivan Perisic,
07:21because he doesn't age and will still be at a World Cup at 37.
07:24Still, not as old as Luka Modric.
07:2641 this year.
07:28Kicking about at the pinnacle of world football.
07:30Class. Men are class.
07:31Croatia weren't really tested all that much in qualifying.
07:34Much like England.
07:35They went unbeaten, just like England,
07:37and finished with a goal difference of plus 22 from eight games.
07:40Exactly like England.
07:42Their old guard, Perisic, Andrej Kramaric and Ante Budimir,
07:45scored 12 of their goals during qualification.
07:47Croatia do have younger players.
07:4919-year-old Luka Vuskovic being one of them.
07:52The Spurs defender might be Croatia's answer to Harry Maguire.
07:55Slab-Hedic, if you will.
07:57And if you want more of a deep dive on the centre-back who spent the past year on loan
08:00at Hamburg in the Bundesliga,
08:01we've actually got a Boys A Bit Special video on him that you need to check out.
08:05Basically, do not give away a corner when he's on the pitch.
08:09Because there's a good chance he'll score from it.
08:11Vuskovic is an absolute monster in the air and it has to be seen to be believed.
08:15So, it's a good job England have a head coach.
08:17He probably won't go route one in that opening game at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington or Dallas,
08:22and whatever they're calling it, or wherever they're actually playing it.
08:24There are other youngsters in this Croatia squad.
08:27Igor Matanovic has scored double figures this season in the Bundesliga.
08:30Martin Baturina helped Como qualify for the Champions League for the first time in Italy.
08:35While cousins Luka and Petr Suchic represent Real Sociedad in Inter Milan.
08:39For the most part, this is an experienced, settled squad.
08:42It's beatable, but I think it comes as no surprise to anyone that England's first group game will be their
08:46toughest.
08:47Potentially, until the round of 16.
08:49If you're also coming down with a severe case of World Cup fever, seek professional help immediately,
08:54and they will prescribe you with one of 442's World Cup ball charts.
08:58We can't promise it'll alleviate symptoms, it might even worsen them.
09:01But we're of the opinion that everyone needs one.
09:03If you haven't done so already, make sure you're subscribed to 442 on YouTube for daily video updates throughout the
09:08World Cup.
09:09You should also follow 442 on Instagram and TikTok for some boots on the ground reporting from the United States.
09:14We'll be out there covering the first kick to the last, and we'd love to have you with us.
09:18Get in the comments and let us know what you thought about this video.
09:21Until next time, bye for now.
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