What knockout stage bracket are England in at 2026 World Cup plus potential route to the final 

Unbeaten England have topped Group L and can now prepare for the knockout phase of the 2026 World Cup.

Thomas Tuchel‘s England won their group opener against Croatia 4-2 to get off to a brilliant start.

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There were initially some encouraging signs to suggest that football could finally come home after 60 years of hurt.

But the gloss was taken off that win after a frustrating goalless draw against Ghana.

However, after a nervy first-half, England secured a 2-0 win over Panama in the third of their games to progress to the knockout stage.

The Three Lions now face DR Congo in the Round of 32 and the rest of the tournament has been mapped out in full.

England’s World Cup fixtures

With the Croatia, Ghana, and Panama games out of the way, Tuchel’s side now face a Round of 32 clash against DR Congo.

And their path to the final is anything but generous should they win that match.

England are in the lower bracket of the World Cup.

After winning Group L, their last-32 match will take place in Atlanta at 5pm BST on Wednesday, July 1.

Mexico or Ecuador would await the Three Lions in the last-16.

That tie will be held at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City at 1am in the UK on Sunday, July 5.

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Five-time winners Brazil, Japan, Ivory Coast, or Norway are potential quarter-final opponents at 10pm GMT in Miami on July 11.

And then a potential semi-final against holders Argentina or Colombia would take place at 8pm UK time on July 15.

Other teams in that pathway include Cape Verde, Australia, Egypt, Switzerland, Algeria and Ghana.

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

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

England’s potential route to the final

Group Stages

• June 17 – England 4-2 Croatia
• June 23 – England 0-0 Ghana
• June 27 – Panama 0-2 England

England’s potential route to the final

• Round of 32: England vs DR Congo – 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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What has been said?

If England are to go all the way this summer, they are going to do it in Tuchel’s way, and Tuchel’s way only.

Speaking after the Panama win, which saw Bellingham and Kane come up clutch, Tuchel said: “It is very vital that everyone is on point, the longer we want to go, everyone needs to be on point and I think we will get there.

“It’s good that we had some players now who got minutes with our changes, some players came from the bench, had their first appearance, that’s good, it keeps the spirit, we have our win and we have stuff to improve. But we also have some good moments and we will build on that.

“Knockout football is coming, the tournament starts completely new and I still believe it will bring the best out of us.”

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