World Cup 2026 qualifying draw LIVE: England discover opponents for first Tuchel campaign | Football | Sport

The 2026 World Cup qualifying draw gets underway on Friday, December 13 as England wait to find out which teams they will face on their road to the USA.

The Euro 2024 runners-up will begin a new era under Thomas Tuchel as they aim to end their 58-year wait for international success in the tri-nation tournament.

The tournament will be staged across 16 cities in Canada, Mexico and the United States in a historic first for the North American countries.

And after making it into the quarter-finals in Qatar in 2022, England will be hoping for a better show this time around under new head coach Tuchel.

The draw will take place in Zurich, Switzerland from around 11am (GMT), with teams drawn into 12 groups of four or five teams.

England have been confirmed as top seeds for qualifying in Pot 1, despite their recent struggle to regain their position in the Nations League’s top tier.

Wales potentially await them in Pot 2, with Scotland, Northern Ireland the Republic of Ireland thrown into the mix in Pot 3. The first four pots each contain 12 teams, with the initial eight spots in Pot 1 reserved for the UEFA Nations League quarter-finalists.

The entire group stage campaign will take place in 2025, some six groups kicking off their fixtures in March. All group winners will seal their place in the expanded 48-team World Cup, with four remaining places up for grabs in the play-offs.

Scroll down for live updates from the UEFA draw in Zurich.