ZURICH — Thomas Tuchel officially began his role as the coach of England on Friday, as he witnessed the draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifying groups. England has been placed in a competitive group alongside Serbia, Albania, Latvia, and Andorra. Tuchel, who will formally take charge in January, is the first German coach for the 1966 World Cup champions and attended the draw at FIFA headquarters, where 54 European teams were allocated into 12 qualifying groups. The qualification matches will kick off in March for some groups, while others will commence in June or September.
Tuchel expressed his initial thoughts on the draw, stating, “It’s a difficult group,” as he awaits FIFA’s confirmation on the fixture schedule to understand whether his debut will be during a qualifying match in March or an interim friendly. Europe will send a total of 16 teams to the first expanded 48-team World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The 12 group winners from next November will qualify directly, while the runners-up will head into a playoff in March 2026, alongside four teams that won their Nations League group last month.
England stands out as one of the few top-seeded countries already aware of its qualifying foes. A significant number of groups remain incomplete, as eight top-seeded teams are yet to be placed based on their Nations League quarterfinal outcomes in March. In one of the notable matchups, the quarterfinal clash between European champions Spain and the Netherlands has presented a daunting Group E that also consists of Turkey, Georgia, and Bulgaria.
Following Spain’s victory over Georgia, which concluded with a score of 4-1 in the Euro 2024 round of 16, Georgia’s coach Willy Sagnol expressed recognition of the group’s challenges, especially with Turkey having suffered a Euro 2024 quarterfinal defeat at the hands of the Netherlands.
In another intriguing matchup, the victor between France and Croatia will lead Group D, competing against Ukraine, Iceland, and Azerbaijan. Conversely, the losing team from that quarterfinal will find themselves in a five-team Group L alongside the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faeroe Islands, and Gibraltar.
Teams such as Germany and Italy may find additional motivation in their Nations League face-off, as the group draw could yield a more favorable outcome. Germany’s coach, Julian Nagelsmann, acknowledged that it would be “a bit easier” to compete in a four-team group together with Slovakia, Northern Ireland, and Luxembourg. Meanwhile, the team finishing second will face Norway and Erling Haaland in a tougher five-team group that also includes Israel, Estonia, and Moldova. Israel has faced difficulties hosting games at home since the surge in violence from Hamas attacks in October of the previous year and is anticipated to continue playing its home matches in Hungary.
The draw saw Russia excluded due to the bans imposed on its teams from international competition by FIFA and UEFA following the military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Belarus, a military ally of Russia, will participate in a group consisting of either Portugal or Denmark along with Greece and Scotland, but must play its matches in neutral territories due to the ongoing war.
Additionally, a potential security issue looms in England’s group, as Serbia prepares to welcome Albania for the first time since the infamous “drone game” in 2014, which involved significant disruptions. The tension from that match in Belgrade, which was abandoned when a drone bearing an Albanian banner was flown over the field, led to violent clashes on the pitch and a subsequent intervention by Serbian fans. Initially decided as a victory for Serbia, the result was later overturned, allowing Albania to make its tournament debut in Euro 2016.
Despite past tensions, soccer relations between Serbia and Albania have been on an upward trend at the federation level, and they are expected to be confirmed on Monday as co-hosts of the Under-21 Euros slated for 2027.
