Football Dec 06, 2025

England's routes to 2026 World Cup final: How Three Lions could lift trophy on July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
England's routes to 2026 World Cup final: How Three Lions could lift trophy on July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium

England's path to the 2026 World Cup final has been revealed following Friday's draw in Washington DC.

The Three Lions have been handed an advantage already by FIFA's introduction of a Wimbledon-style seeding system, which means they cannot meet Spain or Argentina until the semis or France until the final, should all four countries win their respective groups.

England boss Thomas Tuchel was appointed in the autumn of 2024 with the sole mission of adding a second star to the England shirt to add to the one marking the 1966 World Cup.

And now Tuchel can start plotting England's path to glory at the tournament being co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, with kick-off times and locations of games to be revealed by FIFA at 5pm UK time on Saturday, December 6.

So here is England's potential path to reaching the 2026 World Cup final on July 19 at the New York-New Jersey (MetLife) Stadium.

We’ve picked the most likely opponents England would face in those games based on the highest-ranking possible opponents from their route to the final.

June 17: England vs Croatia, Toronto or Arlington

June 23: England vs Ghana, Boston or Toronto

June 27: England vs Panama, East Rutherford or Philadelphia

July 1: England vs Third-placed Group E/H/I/J/K, Atlanta

July 5: England vs Mexico, Mexico City

July 11: England vs Brazil, Miami Gardens

July 15: England vs Argentina, Atlanta

July 19: England vs Spain, East Rutherford

June 17: England vs Croatia, Toronto or Arlington

June 23: England vs Ghana, Boston or Toronto

June 27: England vs Panama, East Rutherford or Philadelphia

July 2: England vs Colombia, Toronto

July 6: England vs Spain, Arlington

July 10: England vs Belgium, Inglewood

July 14: England vs France, Arlington

July 19: England vs Argentina, East Rutherford

This could also take England all the way. But because of the complicated way the third-placed qualification works, there are too many potential routes - which won't be finalised until the end of the group stages - to take into account at this point.

Tags:

football news id:13479783

Share this article

Related Posts

Bayern Munich 2-1 Man Utd (Agg 5-3): Marc Skinner's side exit Women's Champions League despite valiant display in Germany

Bayern Munich 2-1 Man Utd (Agg 5-3): Marc Skinner's side exit Women's Champions League despite valiant display in Germany

Bayern Munich ended Manchester United's Women's Champions League dream after coming from behind to rescue a 2-1 victory at the Allianz Arena and progr...

Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal (Agg: 2-3): Sonia Bompastor fumes again on VAR after Katie McCabe hair pull on Alyssa Thompson not reviewed in WCL game

Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal (Agg: 2-3): Sonia Bompastor fumes again on VAR after Katie McCabe hair pull on Alyssa Thompson not reviewed in WCL game

Sonia Bompastor once again took aim at VAR after the system did not review a Katie McCabe hair pull on Alyssa Thompson for a red card - with the Chels...

Chelsea finances: Blues announce biggest pre-tax loss of any club in Premier League history

Chelsea finances: Blues announce biggest pre-tax loss of any club in Premier League history

Chelsea have announced the biggest pre-tax loss ever recorded by a Premier League club.Chelsea's pre-tax loss of £262.4m for the year ending June 30 2...

Italy miss out on third World Cup in a row after penalties defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in play-off

Italy miss out on third World Cup in a row after penalties defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in play-off

Ten-man Italy missed out on a third consecutive World Cup after losing their play-off on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina.Having failed to reach Ru...

Premier League fixtures live on Sky Sports: Title rivals Arsenal and Man City to be shown on Sky in May

Premier League fixtures live on Sky Sports: Title rivals Arsenal and Man City to be shown on Sky in May

Key Premier League clashes involving title rivals Arsenal and Manchester City are among four new fixtures to be shown live on Your Site in the second...

Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal (Agg 2-3): Sjoeke Nusken's strike not enough as Sonia Bompastor sent off in feisty end to Women's Champions League quarter-final tie

Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal (Agg 2-3): Sjoeke Nusken's strike not enough as Sonia Bompastor sent off in feisty end to Women's Champions League quarter-final tie

A dramatic final 15 minutes saw Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor sent off after Sjoeke Nusken had given the Blues late hope of a Women's Champions League...