Thomas Tuchel will lead England at the 2026 World Cup in his first stint as a national-team manager after guiding the Three Lions to become the first UEFA nation to clinch qualification. With only four friendlies left before the tournament, the German coach is now weighing a key adjustment to England’s preparation schedule after seeing the group-stage opponents unveiled.
As part of Pot 1, England was the final nation drawn by Tom Brady, landing in Group L. There, the Three Lions will face Croatia, Ghana, and Panama, a group in which they are the clear favorites but could still encounter challenges along the way.
With rumors circulating that England would face Japan and Uruguay in the June window, Tuchel was asked about the plan during an interview with talkSPORT following the draw, and his response was candid: “It is likely, especially in terms of organization. But we have to maybe think twice, as we don’t have an Asian team in our group or a South American team in our group.“
Casting doubt on those previously planned friendlies, Tuchel continued to tread carefully regarding any changes. “So I have to think about it, if we need to open the subject and look at other options, if this makes more sense for us to be maybe better prepared. In general, I think we will have strong opponents in March and then take the next steps,” the England boss added.
Harry Kane of England celebrates scoring against Latvia.
Uruguay and Japan were two of the strongest teams in Pot 2: Uruguay with their historic pedigree, and Japan with their rapid rise in recent years. Now drawn into Spain’s Group H and the Netherlands’ Group F respectively, it remains unclear how England will reshape their World Cup tune-up window as they push to “bring football back home.”
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What did Tuchel say about England’s rivals?
England joined Erling Haaland’s Norway as the only two teams to win every match in UEFA World Cup qualifying, posting an 8–0–0 record with 22 goals scored and none conceded. Still, Tuchel believes the road out of the group stage won’t be as easy.
Asked for his assessment of the draw, Tuchel immediately pointed to one opponent: “Difficult group, difficult opening match against Croatia, who were a top seed in Pot Two. They are a top team, ranked tenth in the world and a regular in finals and semi-finals. It straight away starts with a difficult opponent and challenge.
He expanded his thoughts on the remaining teams as well. “Ghana from Pot Four are a regular in World Cups and Semenyo and Kudus play in the Premier League with a lot of quality,” he said. “Panama is a bit of the unknown, we don’t know a lot about them now, but we will know a lot about them in June,” he concluded.
