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The Three Lions will be hoping to go the distance under their new German boss after several near misses
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England and the rest of Europe will be watching on as the World Cup 2026 qualifying draw takes place on Friday morning, with the Uefa zone groups set to be laid out.
With Thomas Tuchel now joining as head coach after the departure of long-serving Gareth Southgate, the Three Lions will be aiming to go a step further than they managed under the man who revitalised the national team, having lost in the finals of both Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.
The qualifying campaign – for the finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States – runs from late March 2025 through to mid-November, with play-offs for those who need them being played out in March 2026. Six groups of four nations and six groups of five are to be drawn, with first place in each group automatically yielding a spot at the finals in 18 months.
Follow the live blog for the 2026 World Cup qualifying groups below:
Full draw so far:
Group A: Winner of Germany vs Italy, Slovakia
Group B: Switzerland, Sweden,
Group C: Loser of Portugal vs Denmark, Greece
Group D: Winner of France vs Croatia, Ukraine,
Group E: Winner of Spain vs Netherlands, Turkiye
Group F: Winner of Portugal vs Denmark, Hungary
Group G: Loser of Spain vs Netherlands, Poland
Group H: Austria, Romania
Group I: Loser of Germany vs Italy, Norway
Group J: Belgium, Wales
Group K: England, Serbia
Group L: Loser of France vs Croatia, Czech Republic
Norway are out next and get placed in Group I.
Wales then get put in Group J with Belgium. Tough one.
Serbia are drawn into England’s group.
Finally, Czech Republic go into Group L.
Ukraine are eligible to be put in Group D.
Turkiye are quickly placed in Group E.
Hungary are put in Group F.
Romania are placed in Group H.
From the Pot 2 draw, Slovakia go into Group A.
Sweden then come out and get placed in Group B.
Poland come out next and must be placed in Group G.
Greece, meanwhile, can be put in Group C.
Group A: Winner of Germany vs Italy
Group B: Switzerland
Group C: Loser of Portugal vs Denmark
Group D: Winner of France vs Croatia
Group E: Winner of Spain vs Netherlands
Group F: Winner of Portugal vs Denmark
Group G: Loser of Spain vs Netherlands
Group H: Austria
Group I: Loser of Germany vs Italy
Group J: Belgium
Group K: England
Group L: Loser of France vs Croatia
The final four teams in pot 1 come out now. The winner of the quarter-final between France and Croatia will go into Group D while the loser is placed in Group L.
The winners of Spain vs the Netherlands goes into Group E.
The winners of Portugal vs Denmark go into Group F.
Next out with have the defeated team from the quarter-final between Germany and Italy who are placed in Group I.
Belgium are drawn into Group J.
England are placed in Group K, that’s the one to look out for as the draw goes on folks.
Portugal vs Denmark play a Nations League quarter-final next year, whichever team loses will go into Group C.
The defeated team from a quarter-final between Spain and the Netherlands go into Group G as they cannot be placed into either Group D, E or F.
Austria also cannot be drawn into the previous groups so they get placed in Group H.
There are eight teams involved in Nations League play-offs or quarter-finals in this pot.
The winner of Germany vs Italy in March is drawn into Group A.
Switzerland are drawn out next and go into Group B.
The first part of this draw is to place the teams in pot 1. This includes England so Thomas Tuchel will be on high alert right now.
Here are the teams getting drawn out first:
Pot 1: Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia, England, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria
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