England fixtures at 2026 World Cup and potential route to the final

The countdown is on to England’s opening game at the World Cup this summer.

The Three Lions have been drawn into Group L for the tournament and will be taking on Croatia, Ghana and Panama in the USA.

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Thomas Tuchel will be hoping to get off to a winning start and begin his quest to finally bring football home after 60 years of hurt.

England’s World Cup fixtures

England will meet Croatia in their opening match on Wednesday, June 17 in what will be a rematch of their semi-final clash in 2018.

They will fight for three points at AT&T Stadium in Texas at 9pm UK time, on the 7th day of the tournament.

As they are having to wait to get their campaign underway, England actually have a friendly against Costa Rica on June 10, the day before the opening World Cup clashes.

The Three Lions’ opponents in their second group game will be Ghana at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts on Tuesday, June 23, also at 9pm.

And their group campaign ends on Saturday, June 27 against Panama in a visit to the MetLife Stadium in New York at 10pm UK time.

Despite a lengthy cross-country trip through America, England have been handed kinder kick-off times in the group stage.

But they know that their path to the final is anything but generous should all of their main rivals finish top of their respective groups.

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If England win Group L, their last-32 match will take place in Atlanta at 5pm GMT on Wednesday, July 1 and could see them face Erling Haaland‘s Norway.

Co-hosts Mexico may then be in store in the last-16 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City at 1am in the UK on Sunday, July 5.

Five-time winners Brazil are potential quarter-final opponents at 10pm GMT in Miami, with a potential semi-final against holders Argentina to take place at 8pm UK time.

And should England get to the final, they would return to the MetLife on July 19, where they could face either Spain or France at 8pm UK time.

Here are the details of England’s World Cup fixtures in full…

Pre-tournament friendlies

• June 6 – England v New Zealand – Raymond James Stadium – 9pm
• June 10 – England v Costa Rica – Inter&Co Stadium – 9pm

Group Stages

• June 17 – England vs Croatia – AT&T Stadium – 9pm
• June 23 – England vs Ghana – Gillette Stadium – 9pm
• June 27 – Panama vs England – MetLife Stadium – 10pm

England’s potential route to the final

• Round of 32: England vs Norway – July 1
• Round of 16: England vs Mexico – July 5
• Quarter-finals – England vs Brazil – July 11
• Semi-finals: England vs Argentina – July 15
• Final: England vs Spain or France – July 19

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Scotland’s World Cup fixtures

While England have benefited from favourable UK times, those cheering on Scotland will be staying up later into the night.

Their opening group clash against Haiti will be at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, June 13, with the match scheduled for 2am in the UK.

Morocco are Scotland’s second opponents in the group on Friday, June 19 at Gillette Stadium again, but this time at 11pm.

The Tartan Army then face a huge test against Brazil on Wednesday, June 24 at the Hard Rock Stadium, once again at 11pm.

Here are the details of Scotland’s World Cup fixtures in full…

Pre-tournament friendlies

• May 30 – Scotland v Curacao – Hampden Park – 1pm
• June 6 – Scotland v Costa Rica – Sports Illustrated Stadium – 9pm

Group Stages

• June 13 – Haiti vs Scotland – Gillette Stadium, 2am
• June 19 – Scotland vs Morocco – Gillette Stadium, 11pm
• June 24 – Scotland vs Brazil – Hard Rock Stadium- 11pm

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