England’s route to World Cup glory revealed – who will Three Lions likely face in 2026? | OneFootball

The draw for the 2026 World Cup has been made and England have learned their group-stage opponents – Croatia, Ghana and Panama. But what about the rest of the tournament and their likely route to the New Jersey final?

FIFA have made changes to the draw process, which is already outrageously complicated, to keep the top four seeds (which includes England) away from one another until the semi-finals, should they all top their groups as expected.

In theory, that should stop a scenario in which the World Cup’s strongest sides find themselves bunched up in one half of the bracket, with the relative outsiders and dark horses given an ‘easier’ route to glory on the other half.

Long story short, there’s very unlikely to be a magic scenario in which England avoid any of the favourites until the latter stages. They’ll surely be some stern tests before making any potential semi-final.

We’ve mapped out England’s potential route to World Cup glory.

Who will England play if they top their group?

Topping the group is easier said than done, but after their stellar record in qualifying it ought to be their aim.

Croatia will inevitably conjure memories of the 2018 semi-final, but England got revenge with a convincing win in their Euro 2020 group stage opener.

Panama faced England in the 2018 World Cup group stage, with a resounding 6-1 mauling for Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions that day, while this will be their first-ever competitive meeting with Ghana.

Get the job done and England will face a third-place qualifier in the new Round of 32 stage in Atlanta. It’s too early and too convoluted to predit their possible opponents there, but by definition it ought to be a side England will be confident of dispatching.

After that, we can start mapping things a bit more confidently. Hosts Mexico would be the likeliest opponents in the Round of 16 at the historic Azteca Stadium, where England famously lost to Diego Maradona’s Argentina in 1986.

From there, if Brazil top their group and advance as expected, they’d be waiting in the quarter-finals in Miami Gardens.

As explained, the four favourites have been kept apart until the semi-finals (should they all top their groups). With the way the draw has turned out, holders Argentina would be their likeliest opponents (if they can make it past Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the quarters) come the final four.

Spain and France, should they top their groups, have been kept apart from England until the final.

All of this, of course, is predicted upon the basis that the favourites top their groups and advance as far as expected. But there’ll surely be some surprises along the way.

What happens if England finish runners-up?

The key thing to keep in mind if England end up as runners-up is that they’ll be thrown into the other half of the bracket.

That would mean (probably) avoiding Brazil, Portugal or Argentina until a potential final. But it would also potentially see them face Spain or France earlier than they’d like.

Finishing runners-up would see them face the runners-up from Group K in Toronto. In all likelihood that’d be Colombia, their Round of 16 opponents from 2018, but it could also be Portugal if that group doesn’t quite pan out as expected.

From there, Group H and tournament favourites Spain would be the likeliest Round of 16 opponents in Arlington, Texas. Fellow European juggernauts Belgium and then France could lie awaiting in the quarters and semis, respectively.

What about third place?

Honestly, England will probably have bigger things to worry about if they somehow finish below Ghana or Panama.

The mapping system is far too complicated to predict a potential route to the final from there, but they’d likely have a group topper and very strong opponent in the first knockout stage.