Need to know
England are through to the knockout stages of the 2026 World Cup and now we can tell you who the Three Lions will face in the Round of 32 and then possible opponents beyond
Harry Kane celebrates after becoming England’s all-time leading World Cup goalscorer(Image: Catherine Ivill/AMA)
Who will England face in the World Cup knockout stages?
- By clinching the top spot in Group L with a win over Panama, England will now jet off to Atlanta for the round of 32. There, they’ll square off against one of the best third-placed teams from Groups E, H, I, J, or K.
- As it stands, that’s set to be Senegal at 5pm (BST) on Wednesday, July 1.
- If they had finished second: If the Three Lions had ended up as runners-up in their group, they would have headed north to Toronto for their first knockout match. That would have meant being pitted against the second-placed team from Group K, which is currently looking like Portugal.
- That match would have kicked off at 12am (BST) on Friday, July 3, reports the Mirror.
- If they had finished 3rd: If England had slipped to third but still progressed as one of the eight best third-placed teams across the tournament, they would have been bound for Kansas City. In this scenario, they would have been slated to play the winner of Group K, which is currently shaping up to be Colombia.
- England won Group L with seven points, having kicked off their tournament with a thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia. They followed up that strong start with a nail-biting 0-0 draw against Ghana, leaving them level on points but ahead on goal difference. And then a win over Panama secured top spot.
- What lies after Senegal? If England beat Senegal, then on Monday, July 6 at 1am BST, a monumental clash with likely Mexico at the world-famous Estadio Azteca stadium awaits in the Round of 16.
- A quarter-final on Saturday, July 11, at 10pm BST would see Brazil as the daunting opponents should the five time winners progress that far.
- A semi-final on Wednesday, July 15, at 8pm BST would see the Three Lions probably have to contend with Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
- And the final on Sunday, July 19, at 8pm BST, could see a re-run of the Euro 2024 final that England agonisingly lost against Spain.
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