England’s Likely Route to World Cup Final Revealed After Group Draw

England's most likely route to the World Cup final has emerged after the draw was made in Washington, D.C on Friday.

At a star-studded event at the Kennedy Center where US president Donald Trump received a special prize, Rio Ferdinand conducted the draw - with Tom Brady, Shaquille O'Neal, Wayne Gretzky and Aaron Judge responsible for creating the groups.

One of the top four ranked nations in the world, England avoided a number of heavyweight nations and were placed in Group L.

The Three Lions were paired with Croatia in a repeat of the 2018 World Cup semi-final, as well as Panama - who they also met in the group stage of the same tournament.

Ghana, with Premier League stars Antoine Semenyo and Mohamed Kudus, will also prove tricky customers.

England's campaign will kick off against Croatia on 17 June in either Dallas or Toronto before facing Ghana on June 23 in Boston or Toronto.

Thomas Tuchel is looking forward to managing England at the World Cup. Image: Getty

The final group clash against Panama will be on June 27 and take place in East Rutherford or Philadelphia.

England's likely route to World Cup final

After the draw, England's potential route to the final has been mapped out - with Sky Sports analysing the state of play.

In the round of 32, added because of the increase to a 48-team World Cup, they will take on a third-placed team from Group E, H, I, J, or K in the first knockout game.

The round of 16 could bring a testing trip to play hosts Mexico in Mexico City on July 5 and if they get past that, England could face five-time champions Brazil - managed by Carlo Ancelotti - in a quarter final in Miami.

An encounter with Argentina may await in the semi-final on July 15 in Atlanta, with a potential second consecutive final and possible revenge against Spain on July 19 in East Rutherford.

Exact kick-off times and locations of games will be confirmed by FIFA in a special live show at 5pm UK time on Saturday.

Because of the changes to the showpiece next year, England can still reach the knockouts if they finish third as the eighth highest-ranked third-placed teams will earn a spot in the round of 32.