Who could England face at the 2026 World Cup and when is the draw?

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Evening Standard

·15 October 2025

Who could England face at the 2026 World Cup and when is the draw?

England to be seeded in the US, Mexico and Canada next summer

As has come to be expected, England booked their place at a tournament with minimal fuss.

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Victory over Latvia on Tuesday sealed the Three Lions' spot at next summer's World Cup with time to spare, ensuring next month's final two qualifiers against Serbia and Albania are little more than early-warm up matches.

Of the 48 teams who will feature in the United States, Mexico and Canada, 28 have now been confirmed. England are the first team to qualify from Europe.

That will mean nothing next summer, though, when Thomas Tuchel leads the latest bid for a first major trophy since 1966.

When is the draw?

The World Cup draw will take place on December 5.

It had initially been expected to be held in Las Vegas, but instead the Kennedy Center - a performing arts venue where Donald Trump is chairman - will host.

Harry Kane scored twice as England thrashed Latvia

Bradley Collyer/PA Wire

The draw is set to get underway at midday local time, which will be 5pm GMT.

The 48 teams will be split into 12 groups of four, with the top two in each group advancing to the knockout stages along with the eight best third-placed sides.

Who could England face?

England are currently ranked fourth in the world and assuming they stay in the top nine in the final rankings before the draw, they will be in pot one.

They will be joined in there by the three hosts, United States, Mexico and Canada, along with the other nations at the top of the world rankings.

Rules state that a maximum of two European teams can be in the same group, while for other confederations it is only one.

As it stands, the other countries in the top nine of the world rankings are Spain, France, Argentina, Portugal, Brazil, Netherlands, Belgium and Croatia.

Lionel Messi’s Argentina are defending World Cup champions

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Should that stay the same ahead of the draw, England would not be able to face any of them in the group stage.

Italy are tenth and so could be drawn with the Three Lions, though they are currently locked in a battle just to qualify. Germany are also potential group-stage opponents.

Ecuador, Uruguay and Colombia are among the South American contingent to have qualified and would all be tricky tests, while England could also be drawn against any of the African nations.

Morocco reached the semi-finals in 2022 and are ranked 11th in the world, leaving them as one of the teams those in pot one will be keen to avoid.