Thomas Tuchel’s first official duty as England coach was to see his new team drawn in a 2026 World Cup qualifying group with Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra.
Tuchel starts work in January as the first German coach of the 1966 World Cup winners but was at FIFA headquarters on Friday to see the 54 European teams drawn into 12 qualifying groups.
Games start in March for groups with five teams, but groups with four teams — like England’s — will begin in September.
Europe will send 16 teams to the first 48-team World Cup, being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The 12 group winners next November advance directly and runners-up go to a play-off in March 2026, joined by four more teams who won a Nations League group last month.
England are one of the few top-seeded teams to already know their qualifying opponents. Most groups are still incomplete as eight top-seeded teams will be placed based on the results of their Nations League quarter-finals in March.
The winners of the quarter-final between European champions Spain and the Netherlands will face a tough group E with Turkey, Georgia and Bulgaria.
The winners between France and Croatia in March will head group D with Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan. The losers of that Nations League quarter-final will be in the five-team group L with the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faroe Islands and Gibraltar.
If Germany beat Italy in March, they’ll be in group A with Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg. The losers of that game will land in group I with Erling Haaland’s Norway, Israel, Estonia and Moldova.
The four teams that advance to the Nations League Final Four in June cannot start in World Cup qualifying until September, and have to play in four-team groups.
Russia were excluded from Friday’s draw because their teams are banned from international competition by FIFA and UEFA since the military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
GROUPS FOR 2026 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS FOR EUROPE:
Group A: Winners of Germany v Italy, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg.
Group B: Switzerland, Sweden, Slovenia, Kosovo.
Group C: Losers of Portugal v Denmark, Greece, Scotland, Belarus.
Group D: Winners of France v Croatia, Ukraine, Iceland, Azerbaijan.
Group E: Winners of Spain v Netherlands, Turkey, Georgia, Bulgaria.
Group F: Winners of Portugal v Denmark, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, Armenia.
Group G: Losers of Spain v Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Malta.
Group H: Austria, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, San Marino.
Group I: Losers 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: Losers of France v Croatia, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/soccer/tuchels-england-draw-serbia-in-2026-world-cup-qualies-c-17077110
