England will face Croatia, Panama, and Ghana at the 2026 World Cup in what is a challenging draw.
Thomas Tuchel‘s men have been drawn into Group L and while they are favourites, their opponents are no pushovers.
The Three Lions will contest their first match on June 17, 2026 in either Arlington or Toronto against the 2018 finalists Croatia.
That clash will resurrect bitter memories from 2018 in Russia, where Croatia broke England’s hearts in the semi-finals. Kieran Trippier had put England ahead with a stunning free-kick but Croatia came back to win 2-1 after extra-time.
Ghana are one of the tougher pot four teams that England could have been assigned, with a spate of talent including Antoine Semenyo, Mohammed Kudus, and Thomas Partey among their ranks.
Panama are underdogs and England thrashed them 6-1 at the 2018 edition but the Central American side always present a physical test.
England will face Croatia in their first match at the 2026 World Cup in what is a tough draw
Donald Trump stole the show at the 2026 World Cup draw, with a heavy involvement
The US President enjoyed the spectacle alongside First Lady Melania Trump
The stars were out in force (Robbie Williams pictured performing with Nicole Scherzinger)
After the opening test against Croatia, England will play Ghana on June 23 in Foxborough or Toronto. The Three Lions will play their final group game against Panama on June 27 in East Rutherford or Philadelphia.
If they win the group, they will face a third-placed qualifier in the last 32. It would be a huge shock for England not to qualify out of the group – the top two from each one advances, while the eight best third-placed teams out of the 12 groups advance.
Meanwhile, Scotland have been handed a rock-hard test against Brazil and 2022 semi-finalists Morocco in Group C, with Haiti also in their group making their first appearance since 1974.
If Wales or Northern Ireland qualify via the European play-offs, they will go into Group B with Canada, Switzerland, and Qatar – surely one they would take.
Meanwhile, if the Republic of Ireland make it, they would have Mexico, South Korea, and South Africa in Group A.
The Americans spared no expense at the Kennedy Center in Washington, where Donald Trump was in attendance alongside Melania Trump and played a huge part in proceedings.
We had performances from Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger, and Lauryn Hill. Village People, the ‘YMCA’ hitmakers who have been adopted by Trump for his MAGA rallies, brought the curtain down in the end with a performance which got everyone on their feet – including England manager Tuchel.
In a star-studded, though slightly dragging ceremony, comedian Kevin Hart, model Heidi Klum, and actor Danny Ramirez were the hosts.
Model Heidi Klum is pictured presenting at the draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington
England manager Thomas Tuchel is hoping his team go all the way for the first time since 1966
Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli was the opening performer, surrounded by eight violinists
Taking on the role of ringleader, Infantino asked everyone to chant the names of their respective host nations – starting with ‘USA, USA, USA’
And none other than England and Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand was tasked with drawing the balls out of the pots alongside Al Jazeera’s Samantha Johnson.
Meanwhile, NFL icon Tom Brady, ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, basketball hero Shaquille O’Neal and baseball superstar Aaron Judge served as draw assistants.
Italian tenor Bocelli, 67, opened the evening with a moving rendition of Italia ’90 anthem Nessun Dorma, surrounded by eight violinists and, towards the end of his performance, a rippling American flag on the big screen. He was applauded loudly at the end of his singing.
Host Klum welcomed FIFA President Gianni Infantino, describing him as ‘football’s number one fan’.
‘FIFA is the official happiness provider for humanity for the last 100 years,’ he claimed in his introductory remarks, before welcoming Donald and Melania among other figures.
‘It will be the greatest FIFA World Cup ever,’ he said. ‘The greatest event humanity has ever and will ever see.’
Taking on the role of ringleader, Infantino asked everyone to chant the names of their respective host nations – starting with ‘USA, USA, USA’. The crowd willingly obliged.
We were then treated to a promotional FIFA video featuring the likes of Brazilian legend Kaka and Colombian singer Shakira.
Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger performed the official World Cup anthem ‘Desire’
‘I think you’re going to have an event the likes of which the world has never seen,’ Trump said
England had their hearts broken by Croatia in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup
After that, Williams and Scherzinger blasted out a chest-thumping rendition of ‘Desire’, FIFA’s official anthem for the 2026 World Cup.
‘Add that one to your playlists because you’ll be singing it later, man,’ comedian Hart promised his listeners.
Then, the brand-new FIFA ‘Peace Prize’ was introduced. ‘Every nation and every culture has wished for peace,’ a promotional video claimed. ‘Peace creates hope and football transforms that hope into unity.’
The video bestowed the prize upon Trump, attributing to him peace between Israel and Hamas, as well as various other nations including DR Congo and Rwanda, India and Pakistan, and Armenia and Azerbaijan.
US Marines brought out an enormous golden trophy composed of hands holding up a globe – seemingly bigger than the World Cup trophy itself – as a reward for Trump, who was invited on stage to also receive a medal and a certificate.
Infantino called it an ‘annual award’ – despite this being its inaugural year – and lauded Trump’s apparent ‘unwavering commitment to advancing peace throughout the world’.
The FIFA President continued: ‘We suffer for every child that dies. We cry with every mother that loses someone she loves. And we want to see hope, we want to see unity, we want to see a future.’
‘This is one of the great honours of my life. We saved millions and millions of lives,’ said Trump.
‘Gianni has done such an incredible job. He’s done record ticket sales and it’s an awfully nice tribute to football. The numbers are beyond what anyone thought was possible.
Italian tenor Bocelli, 67, opened the evening with a moving rendition of Italia ’90 anthem Nessun Dorma
Head coach of Brazil, Carlo Ancelotti (centre) poses on the red carpet ahead of the World Cup draw
US President Trump has struck up a close bond with Infantino in recent months
‘I think you’re going to have an event the likes of which the world has never seen,’ he added, sparing no bombast. ‘We’re the hottest country in the world.’
The event dragged on, with the presenters chatting with World Cup-winning Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni and Brazil icon Ronaldo Nazario, who was asked whether he could beat David Beckham in a free-kick competition. No translation was provided for his answer.
Trump went on to speculate whether the United States should change the name for American football, such is the popularity of ‘soccer’ in America.
‘Hopefully the draw will finish in time for the first match to kick-off in June,’ said BBC commentator Jonathan Pearce after the United States, Mexico, and Canada were drawn into their groups.
After that, almost agonisingly, there was more before we could get to the main draw. Next, a performance from Lauryn Hill. ‘How y’all feelin’?’ she asked the crowd. No reply. ‘Come on FIFA,’ she implored, waving her hands. Still silence from a nonplussed crowd of hardened football managers, legends, and delegates.
Before we could get to the draw, there was time for another video: this time one involving draw host Rio Ferdinand taking phone calls from Infantino and World Cup ambassadors Matthew McConaughey and Salma Hayek.
But finally we got there – or at least, we got to a lengthy explanation of the draw format in a video involving Ferdinand and schoolkids. And then some larking around with Ferdinand, Hart, and the draw assistants.
It was not exactly a seamless day in the build-up to the event. There were long queues in the snow to get into the venue, with former World Cup players caught up in the commotion.
Trump, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney drew the host nations into their groups
Tuchel pictured taking his seat ahead of the draw; the England boss has been brought in on a short-term deal to win the trophy
After the draw, to wrap up, Village People had the venue on its feet with their rendition of ‘YMCA’ with Trump seen out of his feet and dancing.
Each of the 42 nations who have qualified so far have sent representatives. England manager Tuchel was pictured smiling on the red carpet, while Canadian boss Jesse Marsch looked in good spirits as he greeted former US star Cobi Jones.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabians – the 2034 hosts – arrived with a big delegation accompanying boss Herve Renard on the red carpet.
This is set to be a World Cup unlike any other in recent memory for UK-based fans, with many games kicking off in the middle of the night.
The Government recently launched a six-week consultation on extending pub licensing hours in England and Wales for the tournament.
As part of the proposal, licensing hours could be extended to 1am for the semi-finals and final if matches get going before 9pm UK time.
But that is obviously only a miniscule portion of a tournament which is set to have 104 games, with many of those likely to kick off after midnight.
Pub licensing hours were extended for the 2024 men’s European Championship and the women’s equivalent earlier this year.
For the UK fans visiting the United States, they will have to wait another day to find out the precise venues and fixtures.
While England, Scotland, and Wales learn their opponents this evening, they will not learn the stadiums or the order of their games until tomorrow.
With that knowledge will likely come a price surge on airlines as people scramble to get tickets – and employers will be expecting a raft of requests for time off work.
Mark Carney, prime minister of Canada, and wife Diana Fox Carney pose with Infantino
The evening saw performances from Robbie Williams (pictured on the red carpet), Nicole Scherzinger, Andrea Bocelli, Lauryn Hill, and Village People
Lauryn Hill came out to sing next in a long-winded build-up to the official draw
Trump was seen dancing along to Village People’s ‘YMCA’ alongside his wife at the end
This is the first time that the draw day hasn’t included the release of the schedule, just one of many quirks about this newfangled 48-team tournament.
The tournament will be spread across three countries – the United States, Mexico, and Canada – with a total of 16 cities acting as hosts.
There has been a lot of noise around the involvement of US President Trump, who has taken a more active role in proceedings so far than the leaders of previous host nations.
The 79-year-old appears to have struck up a close relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Trump is widely expected to be the first-ever recipient of the FIFA ‘Peace Prize’, a new award which Infantino announced last month.
Infantino felt that Trump was deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize but he was snubbed in favour of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
Their cosy relationship has been attacked by former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who told The Telegraph: ‘My successor, I don’t know if it is really Trump or Infantino.
‘I see this as personal connections, especially with Trump, and I’m not so sure where the actual trophy of the World Cup, which has always been in Zurich well guarded until the opening of the new World Cup, [is]. I doubt that. Perhaps that his trophy is already in the White House.’
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has served as the venue for the draw
Meet the World Cup mascots: Maple the Moose of Canada, Zayu the Jaguar of Mexico, and Clutch the Eagle of USA
Another new aspect of this World Cup draw is the fact that the top four nations in the FIFA rankings have been seeded.
Spain (1), Argentina (2), France (3), and England (4) have been seeded, meaning they will be placed in different parts of the draw and could only possibly meet in the tournament’s climactic stages.
England could only come face-to-face with Spain or Argentina in the semi-finals or beyond, while they could only encounter France in the final.
The United States last hosted the World Cup in 1994, when Brazil won their fourth title.
Despite the perception of the USA being slow to pick up football, that tournament set a record total attendance of 3,587,538 and an average of 68,991 per match, numbers which are yet to be exceeded.
That was despite the fact that there were only 24 teams in the competition back then; it was only expanded to 32 in 1998. For the upcoming tournament, Infantino promised an attendance of seven million.
And the United States, Canada, and Mexico are expected to go all out once again next summer for the tournament which runs from June 11 to July 19.
The largest stadium will be the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which has a staggering capacity of 94,000.
That’s trailed by the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City with 84,000, and the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
