World Cup Draw Confirmed As England Discover Their Group Opponents
England have learned their group stage opponents for the 2026 World Cup following the conclusion of the draw on Friday.
The star-studded spectacle at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C, included appearances from Donald Trump, Robbie Williams, Kevin Hart, Heidi Klum, Nicole Scherzinger, Shaquille O'Neal, Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky and the Village People as a preview for what might be in store in North America next summer.
Rio Ferdinand conducted the draw for the first ever 48-team World Cup, with nations being placed into four different pots and drawn in 12 different groups of four.
There are of course still a number of play-off games in March to determine the remaining six countries set to compete in the competition.
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England, having recorded a perfect eight wins from eight in qualifying, found themselves in pot one alongside reigning champions Argentina, European champions Spain as well as hosts the United States, Canada and Mexico - who were all drawn out first.
Heavyweights Brazil, France, Germany and Portugal were also off limits.
Thomas Tuchel's side avoided the aforementioned nations and because they in the top four in the world rankings, they were given a first of its kind special seeding status that could give them an easier run in the summer showpiece.
Should they all win their groups, England cannot meet Spain and Argentina until the semi-finals and will avoid France until the final.
Further notable restrictions imposed on the draw include no more than one confederation per group - except for UEFA as the 16 participants means four groups will contain two European countries.
Mexico and South Africa will stage the opening fixture in Mexico City on June 11 in a reverse of the curtain-raiser in Johannesburg in 2010.
Scotland have been handed a tricky group as they will lock horns with Brazil, Morocco and Haiti, while England's opponents are no pushover as they have been paired with Croatia, Ghana and Panama.
Here is the draw in full:
Group A
Mexico
South Korea
South Africa
Winner of play-off D
Group B
Canada
Switzerland
Qatar
Winner of play-off A
Group C
Brazil
Morocco
Scotland
Haiti
Group D
USA
Australia
Paraguay
Winner of play-off C
Group E
Germany
Ecuador
Ivory Coast
Curacao
Group F
Netherlands
Japan
Tunisia
Winner of play-off B
Group G
Belgium
Iran
Egypt
New Zealand
Group H
Spain
Uruguay
Saudi Arabia
Cape Verde
Group I
France
Senegal
Norway
Winner of play-off 2
Group J
Argentina
Austria
Algeria
Jordan
Group K
Portugal
Colombia
Uzbekistan
Winner of play-off 1
Group L
England
Croatia
Panama
Ghana
England's World Cup fixtures explained
England will take on Croatia in a repeat of their 2018 World Cup semi-final clash for their opening fixture, which will be on June 17 in either Dallas or Toronto.
They will then take on Ghana on June 23 in Boston or Toronto before concluding the group stage campaign against Panama, another previous World Cup opponent, on June 27 in East Rutherford or Philadelphia.
Aside from the host nations who already know their schedule, all teams will officially learn their venues and kick-off times on Saturday during a live broadcast.
England are poised to play Uruguay and Japan in their next friendly fixtures in March as they prepare for the tournament.
Topics: FIFA World Cup, England
Josh Lawless