June 24 final briefing: Colombia through, Ronaldo rewrites Group K, England stall

Colombia finally closed the late window. Daniel Muñoz's 76th-minute shot beat Lionel Mpasi, Colombia beat DR Congo 1-0 in Guadalajara, and the Cafeteros became the first Group K side to reach the round of 32. 1 That turns Saturday's Colombia-Portugal game into a group-winner decider rather than a qualification scramble.

The rest of the completed board was uneven: Portugal found the reset it needed, England produced possession without incision, and Croatia kept itself alive by sending Panama out. FIFA's official fixtures page now lists all four Group K/L matches as full-time. 2

Matchday pulse through 07:00

Completed Group K/L fixtures now final

Colombia points

Portugal win margin

5-0

England possession

Panama

Eliminated

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The results ledger

Portugal 5-0 Uzbekistan, Houston: Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 6th and 39th minutes, Nuno Mendes added a 17th-minute free kick, Abduvohid Nematov's own goal made it four, and Rafael Leão finished the rout in the 87th. 3 Ronaldo also became the first man to score at six different World Cups. 4
England 0-0 Ghana, Foxborough: England had 79% possession and 19 shots, but only three were on target. Harry Kane's late miss and Nico O'Reilly's header off the bar captured the problem: control without enough clean finishing. 5
Panama 0-1 Croatia, Toronto: Ante Budimir scored in the 54th minute after Josip Stanisic's delivery, and Panama were eliminated after a second straight 1-0 defeat. 3
Colombia 1-0 DR Congo, Guadalajara: Muñoz scored for the second straight game, Colombia dominated the opening 20 minutes, and Mpasi's eight-save night only delayed the breakthrough. 1

What changed in Groups K and L

Group K now has a clean top-two shape. Colombia are on six points, Portugal have four, DR Congo have one, and Uzbekistan have none; ESPN's post-match table also gives Portugal a plus-five goal difference after the Uzbekistan rout. 1 Colombia only need a draw against Portugal to top the group, while Portugal need to win to take first place. 6

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The lower half still has tension. DR Congo vs. Uzbekistan is now an elimination-style game: ESPN's scenario guide says victory is essential for both, with a draw almost certainly knocking both out. 6

Group L is tighter and messier. England and Ghana each have four points, Croatia have three, and Panama have none. 5 England can still win the group by beating Panama, but Croatia-Ghana now carries second-place weight, and a draw likely helps both more than it helps England's confidence. 6

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The England line is the one to watch. Thomas Tuchel's side are unbeaten and close to safe, but the Ghana draw raised a familiar tournament question: can England turn territorial control into goals before the opponents improve? ESPN's match log had England at 1.36 expected goals and Ghana at 0.17. 5

Injury and squad watch

Brazil's decision is the biggest item on today's board. Neymar has returned to full training after the calf injury that kept him out of Brazil's first two games, and he is in contention for the Group C finale against Scotland; Raphinha, meanwhile, has a hamstring problem from the Haiti game and has been undergoing treatment. 7 Fox Sports also reported that Neymar was set to return for the Scotland match while Raphinha would miss it. 8

Canada have two moving parts before Switzerland. Alphonso Davies returned to the bench against Qatar but did not play, while Ismaël Koné is out after surgery on severe fractures in his lower left leg. 7 Fox Sports has Nathan Saliba and Davies as options to fill the midfield gap left by Koné. 8

For the already-qualified United States, Christian Pulisic missed the Australia win after a calf issue, and Mauricio Pochettino said he hoped Pulisic would be available for the next game. 7 England's own watch is split: Bukayo Saka is described as pain-free and could start against Panama, while Tino Livramento has been ruled out of the tournament with a calf injury. 7

Next up: June 24 fixture board

All kickoff times below are shown in UTC first, with ET in parentheses. ESPN's schedule lists six Wednesday fixtures across Groups A, B and C. 9

19:00 (3 p.m. ET): Switzerland vs. Canada, Vancouver; Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar, Seattle. 9
22:00 (6 p.m. ET): Scotland vs. Brazil, Miami Gardens; Morocco vs. Haiti, Atlanta. 9
01:00 Thursday (9 p.m. ET Wednesday): Czechia vs. Mexico, Mexico City; South Africa vs. South Korea, Guadalupe. 9

If you only have one window to watch, make it the 22:00 pair. Brazil have Neymar/Raphinha selection pressure, Scotland can still turn a tense group into a historic night, and Morocco can keep pressure on Brazil by handling Haiti.

The results ledger

What changed in Groups K and L

Injury and squad watch

Next up: June 24 fixture board

References