England’s possible route to the 2026 Fifa World Cup final has been revealed after the draw was made in Washington DC.
Manager Thomas Tuchel will take England into his first tournament in charge hoping to end a 60-year wait for World Cup glory after England’s last triumph on home soil in 2026.
Beaten finalists at the last two Euros, Tuchel’s side again breezed through qualifying with captain Harry Kane and others in fine scoring form, earning a spot as top seeds ahead of the draw.
After being drawn in Group L, England will face Croatia, Panama and Ghana in their three group fixtures. The venues and kick-off times for these games will be confirmed on Saturday.
Should they top the group, as might be expected of a side ranked fourth in the world, they will face a third-place finisher in Groups E/H/I/J/K in the round of 32.
Beyond that, the winner of Group A would await — going by Fifa rankings, that would be hosts Mexico, a potentially challenging proposition at the Estadio Azteca.
At the quarter-final stage, Brazil would be the opponent if the tournament goes to seeding, with Argentina the potential semi-final opposition.
While plenty can change in the next few months ahead of the tournament, top-ranked Spain would currently be England’s fellow finalists.
England’s possible route to World Cup final:
Group fixtures
17 June: England vs Croatia | BMO Field, Toronto or AT&T Stadium, Arlington
23 June: England vs Ghana | BMO Field, Toronto or Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
27 June: England vs Panama | MetLife Stadium, New Jersey or Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Round of 32
1 July: England v third-place finisher in Group E/H/I/J/K | Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Round of 16
5 July: England vs Mexico | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
Quarter-final
11 July: England vs Brazil | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Semi-final
15 July: England vs Argentina | Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Final:
19 July: England vs Spain | MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
