Thomas Tuchel was in Zurich as the draw for the European teams hoping to make it to the 2026 World Cup took place at the UEFA headquarters. England were placed in Group K alongside Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra. Craig Bellamy’s Wales were drawn in Group J, where they will face Belgium, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein. Scotland will face Portugal or Denmark, Greece and Belarus.

England have been placed in World Cup qualification Group K alongside Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra.
The Three Lions’ incoming manager Thomas Tuchel was in attendance for the draw which took place at the UEFA headquarters in Zurich on Friday.

England were in pot one with the top seeds, so they avoided European champions Spain, 2022 World Cup finalists France, as well as Germany and Italy.

Elsewhere, Craig Bellamy’s Wales were drawn in Group J, where they will face Belgium, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein.
Scotland were drawn in Group C with the Nations League quarter-final loser of Portugal against Denmark, Greece and Belarus.
Northern Ireland were drawn in Group A, alongside the Nations League quarter-final winner of Germany versus Italy, Slovakia and Luxembourg.

Some 16 UEFA nations will compete at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico – an increase of three from the previous edition in Qatar. World Cup qualifying for European teams is scheduled to begin in March 2025 and end with the play-offs the following spring.
Tuchel is set to officially take over as England boss on January 1, 2025, seven months after Gareth Southgate stepped down as manager in the wake of the Three Lions’ European Championship final defeat to Spain.
Lee Carsley had taken charge of England in the interim period, guiding them back to the top-tier of the Nations League at the first time of asking during his six-game spell at the helm.

Tuchel plans talks with Southgate, Carsley will be ‘very close’
Ahead of his official start date, Tuchel teased that he plans to sound out his predecessor, Southgate, before his main assignment gets underway next year: to win the World Cup.
Southgate has taken England as close as they have been to world glory in recent years, leading the men’s senior team to the semi-finals for the first time since 1990 at the 2018 tournament in Russia.
He also led England to back-to-back European finals, both of which The Three Lions came out of on the losing end, as they continued to chase their first piece of silverware since 1966.
“He’s a gentleman,” Tuchel told Sky Sports about Southgate. “We met before when I was at Chelsea and it was a pleasure to talk to him, and why shouldn’t I [meet him again]?”

The former Bayern Munich boss also said that he will be “very, very close” to Carsley behind the scenes, following the Under-21 boss’ time in the senior hot seat.
“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,” Tuchel added.
“Of course, we will exchange [ideas] because I’m interested in his point of view, 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.”
WORLD CUP QUALIFYING GROUPS IN FULL
Group A: Winner of Germany v Italy, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg
Group B: Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo
Group C: Loser of Portugal v Denmark, Greece, Scotland, Belarus
Group D: Winner of France v Croatia, Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan
Group E: Winner of Spain v Netherlands, Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria
Group F: Winner of Portugal v Denmark, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Armenia
Group G: Loser of Spain v Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta
Group H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, San Marino
Group I: Loser of Germany v Italy, Norway, Israel, Estonia, Moldova
Group J: Belgium, Wales, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein
Group K: England, Serbia, Albania, Latvia, Andorra
Group L: Loser of France v Croatia, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar
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