England’s nightmare route to World Cup final as Thomas Tuchel faces horrible run | Football | Sport
England’s World Cup path makes for grim reading (Image: Getty)
It’s almost that time again. When dreams turn into nightmares and England’s World Cup hopes go up in flames. But what if this time, more than any other time, England find a way?
That’s what Thomas Tuchel will be hoping, with the German having been ushered in to end England’s now 60 years of hurt. The Three Lions have certainly got a chance, with Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice considered some of the best players in the world.
However, if England are to end their wait for a first World Cup since 1966, they’re going to have to jump over some serious hurdles, with their prospective path looking like a tricky one. Not least because for the first time ever, the knockouts will begin with the round-of-32 phase, meaning even less margin for error.
Getting out of the group shouldn’t be a problem for England, mainly because eight of the 12 third-place teams will earn a berth in the knockouts. Their campaign begins with what is on paper the most difficult game of the group against Croatia, before a clash against Ghana and then Panama on matchday three.
The target will be to win the group, which in turn should give England an easier route to the final. Part of the reason is because their opponents in the third round would be one of the sides that finished third in their group, which should present an easier challenge for the 1966 winners.
It’s difficult to know exactly who that might be, but if they finish top, England will play the third-place team from either Group E, H, I, J or K. Which consist of…
Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curacao
Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia
Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway
Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, DR Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia
The World Cup final takes place on July 19 – will England be there? (Image: Getty)
WORLD CUP LEGENDS: The stars who lit up football’s greatest tournament – Buy the Special Edition today
After that though, it’s the contest everybody’s been speaking about in the build-up to the World Cup: a round-of-16 tie at the Azteca Stadium against co-hosts Mexico. The Azteca Stadium is around 2,200 metres above altitude and that’s not to mention the soaring temperatures.
Banana skins don’t come much bigger than this, but it would require Mexico to top their group and progress through a round-of-32 tie of their own. There’s also a chance England could be playing Scotland at the Azteca in the round of 16, too! Just imagine that…
So, England have made it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup for a third consecutive time, what now? Well, if all goes to plan and the big dogs win their groups as expected, it’s looking like a last-eight tie against Brazil in Miami.
Granted, Brazil don’t look nearly as formidable as previous years, but they’ll know how to handle the temperatures in Florida, will be backed by a raucous following and still have plenty of talent who can hurt England. A win in this and it’s on to the World Cup semi-finals for just the second time in 36 years.
This is when things start to get interesting, as FIFA introduced a seeding system for the 2026 World Cup, whereby the top four nations – assuming they win all their matches – can’t meet until the semi-finals. That means England won’t be able to play Argentina until the semi-finals at the earliest, while France and Spain are the two highest-ranked teams on the other half.
Sounds very simple when you put it like that, right? See you at the MetLife Stadium for the World Cup final on July 19!
Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!
