World Cup 2026 qualifying draw: England discover opponents as Thomas Tuchel's team face Euro 2024 reunion

The Three Lions will enter the five-team Group K for the UEFA cycle as opposed to one of the four-team sections, meaning that Thomas Tuchel's first game in charge will be a competitive match in March rather than a friendly.

First out for England in the draw ceremony was Serbia, their first opponents in the group stage of Euro 2024, where a Jude Bellingham header propelled Gareth Southgate's men to a 1-0 win.

For the second World Cup qualifying campaign running, England will also battle Albania, whom they overcame 2-0 and 5-0 during the preliminary rounds for the 2022 edition.

The Three Lions' pair of success over Albania in 2021 prolonged their 100% record against the Red and Blacks, who also lost back-to-back World Cup qualifiers against England in 1989 and 2001.

As well as beating Albania in all six of their men's matches so far, England also have a perfect 6/6 record against Andorra, whom they demolished 4-0 and 5-0 during the 2022 qualifying campaign.

England have never faced Latvia in a senior men's international match, but the England women's team obliterated their Latvian counterparts 20-0 in their own World Cup qualifier in 2021, the Lionesses' biggest-ever international victory.

Who will Scotland, Wales, Ireland face?

Meanwhile, Scotland have been handed a challenging assignment in Group C, where they will take on the loser of the UEFA Nations League quarter-final battle between Portugal and Denmark, the former of whom they recently met in this year's Nations League.

Greece - Scotland's Nations League playoff opponents - and Belarus will also be pitting their wits against Steve Clarke's side, and Wales will be involved in the five-team Group J, where their stiffest test comes in the shape of 2018 World Cup bronze medallists Belgium.

The Dragons will also be meeting North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein in their section, and the Republic of Ireland take on the winner of Portugal vs. Denmark, Hungary and Armenia in Group F.

Finally, Northern Ireland are involved in the four-nation Group A against the winner of Germany and Italy's Nations League quarter-final showdown, as well as Slovakia and Belarus.

The fixture list for the UEFA World Cup qualifiers will be confirmed in due course, and England's first match under Tuchel will be played on either March 21 or 22.

World Cup 2026 UEFA qualifying draw in full:

Group A: Germany/Italy (quarter-final winner), Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg

Group B: Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo

Group C: Portugal/Denmark (quarter-final loser), Greece, Scotland, Belarus

Group D: France/Croatia (quarter-final winner), Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan

Group E: Netherlands/Spain (quarter-final winner), Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria

Group F: Portugal/Denmark (quarter-final winner), Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Armenia

Group G: Netherlands/Spain (quarter-final loser), Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta

Group H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, San Marino

Group I: Germany/Italy (quarter-final loser), Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova

Group J: Belgium, Wales, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein

Group K: England, Serbia, Albania, Latvia, Andorra

Group L: France/Croatia (quarter-final loser), Czechia, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar

Written by

Ben Knapton