England’s possible World Cup opponents and their path to the final are now known!
England’s path to the World Cup knockout rounds and who they might face next is still up in the air.
On Tuesday evening, Thomas Tuchel’s England have a big chance to secure their spot in the 2026 World Cup knockouts when they take on Ghana at the Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
If England wins, they’ll be through to the knockout stages. Whether they finish top of their group depends on the result of Panama vs Croatia.
If England wins in Boston and Croatia beats Panama in Toronto a few hours later, England will finish first in the group.
But if England don’t beat Ghana, or if Panama gets a surprise result in Toronto, it could change who the Three Lions meet in the next round.
So, who might England face, and how can Tuchel avoid the tough round of 32 match against Portugal that many are talking about?
If England finish first in Group L, their first knockout game will be in Atlanta at 5pm BST on Wednesday, July 1.
According to the official World Cup rules, the Group L winner will play the best third-place team from groups E, H, I, J, or K.
Right now, the top third-place team from these groups is Cape Verde from Group H, after surprising draws with Spain and Uruguay.
That said, England probably won’t face Cape Verde because they are expected to play Mexico in Mexico City earlier that day.
So, if Cape Verde is off the table, England would face the next best third-place team from the other groups, which could mean playing Portugal.
Portugal currently sits third in Group K after an unexpected 1-1 draw with DR Congo.
It’s expected Portugal will beat Uzbekistan on June 23, which could change the group rankings and who England faces.
If England finish first, they might then face Mexico in the last 16 in Mexico City; Brazil or Norway could be their quarterfinal opponents, while Argentina and Messi are likely semifinal challengers.
A final could see England up against Spain or France.
If England don’t beat Ghana, they might finish second in the group, changing their knockout matchup entirely.
This would mean their first knockout game is at midnight on Friday, July 3 in Toronto, likely against the runner-up of Group K — possibly Portugal again if they continue to struggle.
Right now, DR Congo are second in Group K, but Colombia could also come into play.
England might then face Spain in the round of 16, followed by possible matches against the USA or Egypt, and possibly France in the semifinals.
The final could be against Argentina.
Although England won their opening match against Croatia, there’s still a slim chance they finish third in Group L if they lose to Ghana and don’t get good results against Panama, while Croatia wins both games.
They could still advance as one of the best third-place teams, but predicting their opponents in that case is very tricky because so much depends on other results.
In short, England’s next steps in the World Cup rely on how they do against Ghana and what happens in the Panama and Croatia game.