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.

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.

Thomas Tuchel was in attendance for the World Cup draw. Image: Getty

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.

Mexico vs South Africa will kick off the showpiece. Image: Getty

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.