Tuesday closed out Matchday 2 for Groups K and L, and the day delivered exactly the mix everyone hoped for: a clinical favourite booking its passage early, a tournament-defining comeback from a pre-tournament dark horse, and the night-cap everybody circled in June finishing with both teams still standing. Here is what happened on June 23 and where Groups K and L go from here.
Portugal 3, Uzbekistan 0 — NRG Stadium, Houston
Portugal got the night they needed. Roberto Martínez handed Gonçalo Ramos his second start of the tournament and the Benfica striker repaid him inside fifteen minutes, latching onto a Bruno Fernandes through-ball and rolling it under the goalkeeper. From there it was a question of comfort. Fernandes made it two before halftime with a long-range strike that arrived through traffic, and Rafael Leão sealed it in the 71st off a Bernardo Silva cutback.
Uzbekistan defended the way they had against Colombia — deep, disciplined, narrow — and for an hour it almost worked. But the gap in attacking quality told once Portugal started rotating their wide players to overload the half-spaces. Cristiano Ronaldo entered for the last twenty minutes, was politely jeered when a chance went begging, and at the final whistle was the first man to grab Ramos around the shoulders. Portugal sit on six points, top of Group K, and through to the Round of 32 with a matchday to spare.
DR Congo 1, Colombia 2 — Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
The Colombia revival arrived right on time. Cédric Bakambu stunned Lincoln Financial in the 22nd, breaking past Davinson Sánchez to fire DR Congo ahead and silence the heavy Colombian travelling contingent. Luis Díaz answered nine minutes later, finishing off a Mateus Uribe knockdown from a corner, and James Rodríguez — given the freedom Néstor Lorenzo had been holding back — curled in the winner from a free-kick on the edge of the area in the 67th.
That was the kind of Colombia performance the group expected on matchday one. The midfield finally got past the halfway line with intent, and the front line had the verticality that was missing against Uzbekistan. DR Congo are now on a point and need to beat Portugal on Matchday 3 — realistically, against a rotated team — to have any shot at a best-third spot. Colombia climb to four and will fancy the trip to Uzbekistan to clinch.
Ghana 2, Panama 1 — Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
The earlier kick-off in Group L went almost exactly as the numbers said it would. Mohammed Kudus floated a finish in off the post in the 26th, Anibal Fajardo hooked Panama level on the hour from a Murillo cross, and then Iñaki Williams found the decisive goal in the 81st — a counter-attack started by Kudus and finished by the Bilbao forward charging through the inside channel.
Ghana stay alive at three points. Panama leave it on zero and mathematically out. The result also means the Group L finale on Matchday 3 — Ghana against Croatia, England against Panama — still has stakes on both sides of the bracket.
England 1, Croatia 1 — MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
The headline draw was as taut as advertised. Jude Bellingham headed England ahead in the 19th from a Bukayo Saka corner, the run timed off the back post and the finish straight down. Then Croatia, who started the second half with the kind of midfield control they have not really managed since 2018, found their equaliser through Martin Baturina in the 73rd. The Dinamo Zagreb midfielder collected a half-cleared corner, took one touch, and curled it past Aaron Ramsdale from outside the eighteen-yard box.
Both teams sat for the last fifteen minutes. With both already almost certainly through after matchday one, neither manager fancied the injury risk for one or two extra points. The result puts England on four points, Croatia on four, and almost certainly means top spot in Group L will be decided by goal difference on the final day.
Groups K and L: where they stand
- Group K: Portugal 6 (through), Colombia 4, Uzbekistan 1, DR Congo 0. Matchday 3 pairs Portugal-Colombia and Uzbekistan-DR Congo on Saturday.
- Group L: England 4, Croatia 4, Ghana 3, Panama 0 (eliminated). Top spot decided in the simultaneous Matchday 3 finale.
- Best third-place watch: A team on three points is still alive depending on goal difference. Ghana and DR Congo both fall into that conversation.
Three players from the night
- Martin Baturina. The 23-year-old has now picked up where Luka Modrić left off. His equaliser was the kind of moment Croatia have been waiting for a generational midfielder to produce.
- James Rodríguez. The free-kick was vintage. Whatever Colombia look like next round, the floor of this team rises when he plays with this much freedom.
- Gonçalo Ramos. Two goals in three starts at major-tournament level now. Portugal's striker question is starting to answer itself.
FAQ
Are England and Croatia through? Not officially mathematically, but a Panama and DR Congo collapse and a giant Ghana win would be needed to remove either team. Both can be considered functionally qualified.
Can DR Congo still advance? Only via a Matchday 3 win over Portugal combined with a Colombia win over Uzbekistan and a sizable goal-difference swing. Realistic? Borderline. Possible? Yes.
When is Group L's Matchday 3? Saturday June 27. Ghana–Croatia and England–Panama play simultaneously to settle the group.
What's next at the World Cup? Wednesday June 24 is Groups A and B Matchday 3. Mexico, Canada, South Korea and Switzerland are all in action. See the Scorelisto blog for the Day 14 preview and check the live soccer scores tracker.