England's potential World Cup knockout opponents and road to the final revealed

England's potential first World Cup knockout opponents and their road to the final is still far from certain.

On Tuesday night, Thomas Tuchel's England have the chance to book their place in the 2026 World Cup knockouts as they face Ghana at the Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

A win for England will guarantee progression to the knockout stages, with a guaranteed first-place finish secured depending on the result of Panama v Croatia.

If England get a win in Boston, then all they need to be secured the top spot is for Croatia to beat Panama at the Toronto Stadium a couple of hours later.

However, should England fail to beat Ghana or if Panama secures an unlikely win or draw in Toronto, it could have a significant impact on who the Three Lions will face in the next round.

But who are England's potential opponents and how can Tuchel avoid the widely reported nightmare round of 32 tie against Portugal?

If England finish first in Group L

If England win Group L, their first knockout match at the 2026 World Cup will take place in Atlanta at 5pm BST on Wednesday, July 1.

As per page 23 of the official World Cup regulations, the Group L winners will face the best third place team still to be given a match from groups E/H/I/J/K.

Currently, the highest-placed third place team from these five groups is Group H's Cape Verde following their surprise draws with both Spain and Uruguay.

But this doesn't mean that England would face the African nation in their round of 32 fixture as, if things finish as they currently stand, Cape Verde would instead be drawn to face Mexico in Mexico City at 2am BST on July 1.

That's because the match between the winners of Group A (Mexico) and the best third place team of groups C/E/F/H/I is scheduled to be match 79 of the tournament, one earlier than England's fixture.

In this scenario, with Cape Verde out of the running, England would instead play the best third place team from groups E/I/J/K, which is how we arrive at the nightmare tie with Portugal.

As it stands, Portugal are third in Group K, following their surprise 1-1 draw with DR Congo.

Of course, it is widely expected that Portugal will beat Uzbekistan when they face off on June 23, which would alter the Group K standings and the rankings of the third-placed teams, therefore impacting England's opponents.

England's road to the final would then include a potential last-16 tie with Mexico in Mexico City.

Brazil or Norway would be likely potential last eight opponents, while holders Argentina and Lionel Messi would be the most likely semi-finals.

Should they reach the final, England would then likely face either Spain or France.

If England finish second in Group L

Should England fail to beat Ghana then there is a strong chance that they could finish second in the group, completely changing their round of 32 opponents and road to the final.

In this scenario, the Three Lions would play their first knockout match at the 2026 World Cup at midnight on Friday, July 3 in Toronto.

As runners-up in Group L, England would face the runners-up in Group K, meaning they could again be matched up with Portugal should Cristiano Ronaldo's side continue to struggle.

Currently, it is DR Congo who are second in Group K, but England could also face match-up against Colombia in this scenario.

It is likely that England would then face a brutal clash with Spain in the round of 16, should the Euro 2024 champions finish top of Group H as expected.

After that they could face several nations including the USA or Egypt in the round of 32, and a likely clash with France in the semi-finals before taking on the victor of the other side of the draw in the final, who in this case would likely be Argentina.

If England finish third in Group L

Despite winning their opening match against Croatia, it is still technically possible, albeit unlikely, that England finish third in Group L.

If England lose to Ghana and lose or draw with Panama while Croatia beat both countries, this would place them second from bottom in the group.

In this scenario, England could still qualify for the round of 32 should they be one of the top eight highest-ranked third placed teams.

However, it's impossible to predict who England would face in the knockout stages if they were to finish third as it relies on too many variables.