World Cup Draw: England set for a rematch of the 2018 semi-final against Croatia

The 2026 World Cup draw has been made and England have been placed in Group L, along with Croatia, Ghana and Panama. 

Below you will find the full draw for the first-ever edition of the 48-team World Cup finals.

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Think you know how the 2026 World Cup is going to play out? Play our free World Cup predictor to determine who will be the victors next summer in North America.

Croatia will be the Three Lions' first opponents, which will have an added spice as they were the team to break England's hearts in the 2018 semi-finals in Russia. Panama were in England's group that year and the Three Lions were commanding 6-1 winners.

England also face Ghana for the first time ever in a competitive fixture.

Scotland have also learned their opponents as they prepare to make their first World Cup finals appearance since 1998. They have been drawn in a tough Group C and will face Brazil, who they faced in their first game at France 98, 2022 semi-finalists Morocco and Haiti - who will be their first opponents.

Should either Wales or Northern Ireland join the party via Uefa play-off A, they would be placed in Group B and their first match would be against co-hosts Canada, while Qatar and Switzerland were also drawn into this group.

The Republic of Ireland are in the running for the Uefa play-off D spot, and should they qualify they would join Group A and compete against co-hosts Mexico, South Africa and Korea Republic.

Today's Football Fixtures

World Cup Odds

Mexico get the tournament up and running against South Africa, who are making their first appearance at the World Cup finals since hosting the 2010 edition.

In Group J you have holders Argentina whose first game comes against two-time African champions Algeria.

Group H looks interesting as you have the inaugural World Cup winners Uruguay against the tournament favourites Spain, which will be the final game of that group.

The draw in full:

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, Korea Republic, Denmark/Czech Republic/Republic of Ireland/NorthMacedonia

Group B: Canada, Italy/Wales/Bosnia-Herzegovina/Northern Ireland, Qatar, Switzerland

Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland

Group D: USA, Paraguay, Australia, Turkey/Slovakia/Kosovo/Romania

Group E: Germany, Curacao, Ecuador, Ivory Coast

Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Ukraine/Poland/Albania/Sweden, Tunisia

Group G: Belgium, Egypt, IR Iran, New Zealand

Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay

Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname, Norway

Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan

Group K: Portugal, DR Congo/Jamaica/New Caledonia, Uzbekistan, Colombia

Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama

Fifa's new idea to save some blockbuster clashes for the latter stages of the tournament will see the top-four ranked nations - Spain, Argentina, France and England - given special seeding status so that they will be kept apart until the semi-finals should they win their groups.

In this scenario, Spain (1) and Argentina (2) will be paired and placed into groups in opposite sides of the draw, and the same goes for France (3) and England (4).

Fifa president Gianni Infantino was leaning into the showbiz side of the ceremony after joining comedian Kevin Hart on stage. His audience interaction was fitting for this time of year in the UK given it's pantomime season.

So who knows, maybe he's a future panto star in the making?