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Thomas Tuchel looks ahead to England’s World Cup qualifying campaign. (0:57)
England have been drawn against Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in their 2026 World Cup qualifying group.
The European qualifying groups were drawn in Zurich on Friday as teams discovered their possible route to the tournament which is to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Incoming England manager Thomas Tuchel was in Switzerland in his first formal appearance since taking the job, despite not officially starting until Jan. 1.
“I have huge respect for Serbia and Albania. They can always surprise,” Tuchel said after the draw. “They have a strong history of technical football, an emotional crowd and emotional players. They have two famous ex-players as coaches so we should be very aware of that.
“England has never played Latvia so this is a new experience for all of us, and then of course we have Andorra where we are huge favourites.
“But we have to qualify, this is the most important thing, this is where all the focus goes. There cannot be any other approach but to take it seriously, take it with respect and make it happen before we can bring the dream.
“England has the players and the characteristics to go far. But now we have to prove it in the qualifiers. The gaps between the big nations closes all the time, in every tournament you see the same effect that it gets more and more difficult to win your games. First of all we have to show full respect and make sure we reach our top level from March.”
The draw consists of six groups of four and six groups of five nations. Teams will face each other home and away throughout next year.
The eight teams who are taking part in the UEFA Nations League (NL) quarterfinals were automatically placed in Pot 1, along with England, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria.
The teams in the NL quarterfinals will have their groups decided by the outcome of those matches. The winner will be placed in one group, and the loser in another.
Northern Ireland were drawn in Group A against Slovakia, Luxembourg and the winner of Germany or Italy, who face each other in the NL quarterfinals.
Scotland will face the loser of the NL clash between Portugal and Denmark as well as Greece and Belarus.
Wales boss Craig Bellamy will take on Belgium, North Macedonia and Kazakhstan in his first World Cup qualifying games as coach.
