England learned they will face Serbia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the draw for the preliminary part of the UEFA matches, which was watched by Thomas Tuchel on Friday.
The new German manager was in attendance at FIFA headquarters in Switzerland to watch the Three Lions draw against their Euro 2024 group stage opponents. England will be favorites to top a qualifying group that also includes Albania , Latvia and Andorra.
As future winners of the Quarter-finals of the UEFA Nations Leaguewhich have yet to be played, have to be drawn into a group of four teams – to leave room on the calendar for that much-loved mini-elimination tournament – there were several markers scattered throughout the draw.
For example, the winner of the Nations League tie between reigning Euro 2024 Champions Spain and the Netherlands next March will be in Group E alongside Turkey, X and Y. The losers of this match meet Poland and Finland in Group G.
Scotland landed in Group C, and will face the loser of the Nations League quarter-final between Portugal and Denmark. Wales had all their opponents confirmed, ensuring they will face a Belgian team, ranked eighth in the world.
The 12 winners of the qualifying group earn automatic passage to the 2026 World Cup finals hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada. The group runners-up are paired with the best-performing Nations League teams that did not qualify for a second round of 16 teams.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
Group I
Group J
Group K
Group L
Tuchel’s first game as England manager he could be a World Cup qualifier. After taking over from interim boss Lee Carsley on January 1, the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager will not be able to work with his new players until the March 2025 international break.
This window is also when World Cup qualification begins for England and all other nations from Groups G to L. Countries that have qualified for one of the four-team groups (AF) do not start qualify until the first week of September 2025.
2026 World Cup qualification schedule for UEFA teams
|
Conference of the AF Groups |
Meeting of the GL Groups |
dates |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
1 |
March 21-22, 2025 |
|
N/A |
2 |
March 24-25, 2025 |
|
N/A |
3 |
June 6-7, 2025 |
|
N/A |
4 |
June 9-10, 2025 |
|
1 |
5 |
4-6 September 2025 |
|
2 |
6 |
September 7-9, 2025 |
|
3 |
7 |
October 9-11, 2025 |
|
4 |
8 |
October 12-14, 2025 |
|
5 |
9 |
November 13-15, 2025 |
|
6 |
10 |
November 16-18, 2025 |
