World Cup 2026 draw LIVE: England and Scotland discover qualifying opponents as groups drawn
England will play Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in Thomas Tuchel’s first games in charge as the road to World Cup 2026 begins
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Your support makes all the difference.England will play Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in World Cup 2026 qualifying, in what will be Thomas Tuchel’s first games in charge after replacing Gareth Southgate.
The Three Lions, who were among the top seeds for the qualifying draw, were placed in the five-team Group K. First place in each group automatically secures a spot at the finals - in Canada, Mexico and the United States - in 18 months.
Many of the groups are not yet complete and will depend on the outcome of the Nations League quarter-finals, which will be played in March.
Scotland will play the loser of the tie between Portugal and Denmark, along with Greece and Belarus in the four-team Group C
Wales will once again take on Belgium, as well as North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein in the five-team Group J.
Northern Ireland will meet the winners of Germany and Italy’s quarter-final, as well as Slovakia and Luxembourg in the four-team Group A .
Meanwhile the Republic of Ireland will face the winner of Portugal and Denmark’s quarter-final, as well as Hungary and Armenia in the four-team Group F.
Qualifying runs from late March 2025 through to mid-November, with play-offs for those who need them being played out in March 2026.
Follow the live blog for the 2026 World Cup qualifying groups below:
World Cup qualifying draw, full results:
Group A: Winner of Germany vs Italy, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg.
Group B: Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo.
Group C: Loser of Portugal vs Denmark, Greece, Scotland, Belarus.
Group D: Winner of France vs Croatia, Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan.
Group E: Winner of Spain vs Netherlands, Turkiye, Georgia, Bulgaria.
Group F: Winner of Portugal vs Denmark, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Armenia.
Group G: Loser of Spain vs Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta.
Group H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia & Herzegovenia, Cyprus, San Marino.
Group I: Loser of Germany vs Italy, Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova.
Group J: Belgium, Wales, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein.
Group K: England, Serbia, Albania, Lavia, Andorra.
Group L: Loser of France vs Croatia, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar.
Tuchel to speak with Carsley in January
Thomas Tuchel will hold talks at St George’s Park next month with Lee Carsley, who took interim charge for England’s Nations League campaign in the autumn.
“We will work from January at St George’s and I hope it will become very regular that we will meet and very normal that we meet,” said the incoming England boss.
“Of course we will exchange (ideas) because I’m interested in his point of view about the (squad selection for) the games, about the potential in the group and how he felt about the group and the experiences.
“He is the under-21 coach, so he will be very, very close to me and we have enough time from January.”
Thomas Tuchel to offer ‘clean start’ to Ben White and other exiled England stars
New England manager Thomas Tuchel will speak to Ben White and offer the Arsenal defender a “clean start” when he takes charge in the new year.
White has not played for his country since he left England’s 2022 World Cup squad during the Qatar tournament, despite impressing for the Gunners.
Gareth Southgate could not convince the 27-year-old to end his international exile, and White did not return under interim boss Lee Carsley either.
But Tuchel, who attended the World Cup qualifying draw in Zurich before taking charge on January 1, has said he will try to speak to White.
Thomas Tuchel to offer ‘clean start’ to Ben White and other exiled England stars
White has not played for his country since leaving England’s World Cup camp two years ago - as Tuchel offered a clean slate
The absurd image that sums up Fifa’s ‘tinpot dictatorship’ as Saudi Arabia awarded World Cup
t was a scene that should become infamous, more absurd than anything even witnessed on 2 December 2010.
Fourteen years on, on Thursday 11 December 2024, Fifa’s congress remotely applauded through two “decisions” that acclaimed the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 World Cups: Morocco-Portugal-Spain with three matches in Argentina-Paraguay-Uruguay for 2030, and then Saudi Arabia for the tournament four years later.
And that was only the half of it. The tinny applause came from a display of Big Brother-style screens, Fifa president Gianni Infantino standing proudly in front of it. It was an image that somehow represented a devolution from the shock on Sepp Blatter’s face as he read out “Qatar” on that day in 2010.
The absurd image that sums up Fifa’s ‘tinpot dictatorship’ as Saudi awarded World Cup
The decision to hand Saudi Arabia the 2034 tournament was remotely applauded through by Fifa’s congress in ludicrous scenes and Miguel Delaney explains how this Gianni Infantino-led endeavour perfectly encapsulated the depths to which football has sunk
Thomas Tuchel reacts to World Cup qualifying draw
Asked about facing Serbia and Albania, Tuchel told BBC Radio 5 Live:
“They are always very talented individual players, a very emotional group, a very emotional crowd. So they can always surprise. We have to take this very seriously. It’s a first fixture with Latvia, so a new challenge for all of us.
“And then we are clear favourites, of course, against Andorra, but qualification is key now. Qualification is top priority. We have to be serious. We have to be determined, and we have to show what we’re up for in this group of five.”
Tuchel was asked if he was confident of finishing top of the group, and added: “I don’t see it as a given. The gap closes more and more between the big nations and the small nations. You see it in the Euros lately.
“There are no such thing as results that are already done before the match is played. The smaller nations have become stronger and stronger. So we have to earn our place. We have to earn our top spot.”
England handed friendly draw in 2026 World Cup qualifying as Thomas Tuchel era begins
Thomas Tuchel’s England have been drawn against Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
The German officially takes over as head coach on 1 January and will take heart from the fact England have never lost to any of the teams they will face on the road to the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Scotland are in a four-team group, and will face whichever team loses the Nations League quarter-final tie between Portugal and Denmark, along with Greece and Belarus.
England handed friendly draw in 2026 World Cup qualifying as Thomas Tuchel era begins
Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland also found out their fate in European qualifying for the touranment
Pedro Martinez Losa leaves Scotland role after Euro 2025 qualifying failure
Pedro Martinez Losa has left his post as Scotland women’s national team boss after failing to qualify for Euro 2025.
The Scottish FA confirmed the decision on Friday morning after the Scots missed out on another major tournament earlier this month, losing 2-0 to Finland in the play-off final second leg after a goalless first leg at Easter Road.
Martinez Losa, who took over as head coach in July 2021, also missed out on the 2023 World Cup via the play-offs.
Pedro Martinez Losa leaves Scotland role after Euro 2025 qualifying failure
The Spaniard’s side missed out on a second successive major tournament after a 2-0 playoff defeat to Finland
We should all be worried about Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 World Cup
Fifa’s handing of the 2034 Men’s World Cup to Saudi Arabia, by breaking its own rules and without conducting proper human rights due diligence, highlights why the UK needs to act fast and take a firm stance against “sportswashing” before it’s too late.
A piece of legislation currently making its way through parliament in the UK – the Football Governance Bill, at the committee stage in the House of Lords – should explicitly rule out individuals and entities implicated in grave human rights abuses from securing stakes in football clubs in England and Wales. The new Human Rights Watch report about how Saudi Arabia is using its sovereign wealth fund, which holds a majority stake in Newcastle United, is a prime example.
We should all be worried about Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 World Cup
It comes as part of a worrying global trend of sporting infrastructure being taken over and used by authoritarian governments as tools to whitewash their poor human rights records, writes Robbie Newton
Northern Ireland will find it tough
Northern Ireland’s group will feature either Germany or Italy. Both teams will be near impossible to beat on their day.
Slovakia are also tricky customers and very adept at making it out of qualifying but Northern Ireland will need some positive results against them if they hope to progress.
Luxembourg have to be their bankers. They’ll need two wins from two against them to have any chance of going through.
Bellamy will be excited
Being in Pot 1 meant that England were more than likely going to get drawn against favourable teams. Wales on the other hand have pulled a rabbit out of the hat.
Belgium will always be tough but North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, and Liechtenstein should all be beatable.
Craig Bellamy will be rubbing his hands together at the prospect of a World Cup play-off (at the very least) and maybe even an automatic spot for the tournament itself.
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