The 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be England’s 17th appearance at the tournament, and their first under Thomas Tuchel, who was appointed in February 2025 with one objective: win the World Cup.

It’s now been 60 years since England lifted the Jules Rimet Trophy on home soil in 1966, and the wait for a second major triumph has never felt more agonising than in recent years.

Gareth Southgate’s side reached the semi-finals in Russia in 2018, then went agonisingly close on two occasions at the European Championship, losing on penalties in the Euro 2020 final to Italy, and suffering a 2-1 defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin.

But as always, there’s genuine belief among England fans that this could be the year. England squads tend to be packed with world-class talent, and this year is no different. But they’re now guided by an experienced Champions League-winning manager in Tuchel, which could make all the difference as they head into the tournament.

This is everything you need to know about the Three Lions’ 2026 World Cup campaign.

England World Cup 2026 Group, Fixtures & Results

Kai Pfaffenbach via Reuters

England were drawn in Group L alongside Croatia, Panama and Ghana. It is a group Tuchel’s side will be expected to win. They are comfortably the highest-ranked team and began with a big victory over Croatia, who knocked England out at the semi-final stage in 2018, meaning the demons of past disappointments have been exorcised early on.

England played Croatia in Dallas before heading to Boston to face Ghana, a side with several players who’ve graced the Premier League, including Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo. The group concludes in New Jersey against Panama, who England thrashed 6-1 the last time they met at a World Cup in 2018.

England’s Potential Knockout Stage Path

England players via REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

The 2026 World Cup introduces a Round of 32 for the first time, meaning England would play an extra knockout game before the familiar Round of 16. Topping Group L is crucial. If England finish first, they face one of the eight third-place sides in the Round of 32 on the 1st of July in Atlanta, then a possible clash against hosts Mexico in the early hours of the 6th of July awaits at the Estadio Azteca.

This is where it steps up a gear. On the 11th of July, Brazil could well be waiting in the quarter-finals. As much as they would have avoided the top three ranked teams, the test would be just as big if the Selecao, who knocked England out of the 2002 World Cup at this stage, are the opponents. A semi-final around the 15th of July may pit them against holders Argentina. The Three Lions have never faced Lionel Messi, and it would be the first time in over two decades that the two nations would face-off.

Then it’s on to the big one. The final takes place on the 19th of July at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The top two seeded sides, France and Spain, conveniently sit on the other side of the bracket to England, and if their performances in the World Cup live up to their ranking, it’ll be either the side that knocked them out of the last Euros or last World Cup, that England would face in the final.

Key World Cup 2026 Knockout Stage Dates

England World Cup 2026 games on TV

All 104 matches will be shown free-to-air in the UK, split between BBC and ITV, with only a TV license required to watch them live in the UK. ITV has the Croatia and Panama matches; BBC has Ghana. Should England progress, the BBC is set to broadcast their Round of 32 and Round of 16 fixtures, with ITV taking the quarter-final and handing back over to BBC for the semi-final, with both channels simulcasting the final.

In the US, English-language coverage is on FOX and FS1, while Spanish-language viewers can watch on Telemundo and Universo, with all platforms providing streaming options in the same way BBC and ITV do.

England World Cup 2026 squad

This has been the biggest and most controversial talking point of recent weeks when it comes to the Three Lions.

Tuchel named his 26-man squad on the 22nd of May in a live event from Wembley, and it generated enormous debate. The omissions of former England regulars Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were the big talking points, with Maguire posting publicly that he was “shocked and gutted.”

On the other side, captain Harry Kane will lead the squad, and Ivan Toney returned from international exile alongside a surprise inclusion for John Stones, who has played just 18 matches in all competitions this past season.

Useful World Cup 2026 links

Former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg has named who he believes is the ‘greatest’ Formula 1 driver of all time.

Rosberg began his F1 career with Williams in 2006 before moving to Mercedes for the 2010 season, with the German winning his one world title in 2016, becoming the only teammate to beat Lewis Hamilton over a full championship season at Toto Wolff’s side.

He enjoyed a star-studded career, racing with drivers many consider as the greatest of all time, including Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, allowing him to have a significant understanding and opinion on who is the ‘GOAT’ of the sport.

One of the key elements of his career was his rivalry with the Brit. The two had a fierce four-year rivalry which ended in Rosberg’s title win and then immediate retirement after.

Prior to this, he was teammates with Schumacher, also at Mercades, after he came out of retirement to race again in 2010 for three seasons.

Nico Rosberg on Lewis Hamilton vs Michael Schumacher Debate

Crispin Thruston Livepic via Reuters

Speaking to Sky Sports Germany after the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, Rosberg described who he thinks is the greatest of all time.

It seemed last year as if Hamilton’s move to Ferrari might damage his legacy, but he is now in resurgent form, recording his 106th career win on Sunday. The win, his first for the Scuderia, catapulted him into contention for an eighth title with championship leader Kimi Antonelli retiring from the race.

“This is a fantastic day for the sport,” said Rosberg. “It’s historic. He’s the greatest of all time. It’s great that he turned things around, because last year looked so dark and bleak.

It wasn’t lost on Sky Sports Germany host Peter Hardenacke that Rosberg made the statement while standing next to Ralf Schumacher, Michael’s brother.

Schumacher will always be ‘light years’ ahead of Hamilton, Ralf responded, because he built a Ferrari dynasty from ‘scratch.’

He won five straight titles at Maranello between 2000 and 2004 – the most dominant run F1 has ever seen – with the Prancing Horse having only had one champion since.

With Rosberg first driving in Formula One in 2006, he, therefore, never faced Schumacher at his absolute best, helping him win the overall points head-to-head 324-197 across their three years together. On the other hand, he arguably took on Hamilton in his prime before retiring at the end of the 2016 season just days after winning his one and only F1 world championship title.

One F1 driver is reportedly ‘under pressure‘ from his own father and considering his future following a poor start to the 2026 season.

Williams currently sit in eighth place – having recorded just 11 points this year – with the Barcelona weekend compounding the misery of their underwhelming 2026 season so far.

The Spanish circuit historically hasn’t favoured their car in a long time, which was further proved in their recent visit, where Alex Albon retired, and Carlos Sainz finished in 12th, two laps down.

Since the beginning of pre-season testing, it has been well documented that Williams’ car was overweight, but its problems go much further than just that.

Sainz said the deficit through medium and high-speed corners was partly down to weight, but more significantly down to a lack of downforce compared to rivals.

The Spaniard called it a realisation that Williams are much further from their target than expected and that it was ‘time to go back to the drawing board.’

Seven races in, Williams are closer to the bottom of the table than the top of it, and the gap to the cars they’re nominally racing against is not closing, and the underperformance of the team this year has led to one of their drivers seriously considering his future with the team.

Driver Considering His Future After Poor Start to 2026 Season

Carlos Sainz looked to be making strong progress with Williams in 2025, having grabbed two podiums in Baku and Qatar respectively, but due to their poor ranking after the opening seven races, the Spaniard is reportedly thinking about leaving the team.

According to a report from Blick, Sainz has ‘had enough’ of Williams, and with the team struggling to make progress under the new regulations, he is also ‘under pressure’ from his father, who is wanting his son to consider another team.

Multiple teams are keeping tabs on the 31-year-old, with Ferrari reportedly being open to signing Sainz and bringing him back to Maranello, despite their strong pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.

McLaren is also an option amid Oscar Piastri‘s links regarding a possible move to Red Bull – but the Spaniard’s father has another option in mind.

Sainz ignored his father’s advice and turned down Audi before deciding to join Williams in 2024. Now, he is going to follow his father’s wishes and ‘finally try out’ for the German manufacturer.

However, Williams boss James Vowles insists that Sainz and Alex Albon have bought into the project and, should they want to leave, they will be open about it.

“The great thing with both is they have the same values I do, which is honesty, transparency,” Vowles stated. “So we have honest conversations, all the way from October last year, when I started to see problems, to January till March – and then here’s what we’re doing to fix this in this year.

“Because we have the same values in that honesty and transparency, it means that if they are considering anything else, they come to me and talk to me about it.”