When will the World Cup 2026 fixture schedule be confirmed? | OneFootball

England are in Pot 1 for Friday’s draw

World Cup year is almost upon us, and details for the biggest tournament in football are being finalised this week.

England are in Pot 1, which shields them from the big-hitters early.

That said, there are still some tricky customers that the Three Lions could be drawn against.

Thomas Tuchel and his staff will find out their group-stage opponents on Friday, with their schedule confirmed the day after, on Saturday, December 6.

The tournament - newly-expanded next year - will see 12 groups drawn, with 104 matches to be played across the opening round.

FIFA have outlined their ‘match allocation process’ on their website, where dates and kick-off times for the group-stage games will be finalised.

There are still teams left to qualify, however, with the inter-confederation play-offs set to take place in Mexico in March.

FIFA has confirmed that a final match schedule will be released following the conclusion of those play-offs next year, where two final teams will qualify for the tournament.