England and Scotland’s World Cup fixtures revealed as Donald Trump attends draw in Washington

Scotland were drawn into group C, meaning they will face Brazil, Morocco and Haiti.

Donald Trump was among those in Washington for the draw, with the President receiving the new Fifa Peace Prize.

England's opening game will be against Croatia, who the Three Lions lost to in the 2018 semi-final.

The 2026 World Cup introduces a new 48-team format, expanding from the traditional 32-team structure used since 1998.

Instead of eight groups of four, the tournament will now feature 12 groups of four teams, with the top two from each group plus the eight best third-placed teams advancing to a much larger Round of 32.

This replaces the old system, which moved straight into a Round of 16.

As a result, the competition grows from 64 to 104 matches, making it the biggest World Cup ever.

If the Republic of Ireland or Wales qualify, they will be placed in group B alongside Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.

World Cup Venues

The 2026 World Cup will be historic. For the first time, matches will be held in three countries, the United States, Canada and Mexico, across a record 16 host stadiums, the most since 2002.

In the United States, 11 venues will stage games, among them MetLife Stadium (New York/New Jersey), AT&T Stadium (Dallas), SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles), Mercedes‑Benz Stadium (Atlanta), Lumen Field (Seattle), NRG Stadium (Houston), Hard Rock Stadium (Miami), Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City), plus venues in Philadelphia, Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area (Levi’s Stadium).

Canada will host matches in two cities: BMO Field in Toronto and BC Place in Vancouver, marking the first time Canada will stage games in a men’s World Cup.

In Mexico, three venues make the list: Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, which has previously hosted World Cup finals, Estadio Akron (Guadalajara) and Estadio BBVA (Monterrey).

England's World Cup Qualifying Campaign 

On their way to securing a place at the 2026 World Cup, England have completed one of the most dominant qualifying campaigns in their history, finishing with a perfect record of eight wins from eight matches and conceding no goals.

Under new manager Thomas Tuchel, the team began their campaign in March 2025 with a 2-0 victory over Albania and continued with convincing results against Andorra, Latvia and Serbia.

A 5-0 win away to Latvia mathematically sealed qualification with two games to spare, underlining their superiority over the rest of Group K.

England finished the job with a 2-0 win in Albania, where Harry Kane scored twice to crown a flawless run.

Tuchel has praised the team’s unity, ambition and strong mentality, noting that the campaign offered a clear statement of intent ahead of next year’s World Cup in North America.

Analysts, however, caution that while England’s dominance over lower-ranked opposition was impressive, the true challenge will come when they face elite nations on the world stage.

Even so, the achievement of eight consecutive clean sheets and 22 goals scored has given the squad momentum and fans' confidence.

Scotland's World Cup Qualifying Campaign

Scotland are set to finally return to the World Cup after a 28-year absence, booking their spot at the 2026 finals with a dramatic 4-2 win over Denmark at Hampden Park, a result that ends a long wait dating back to their last appearance in 1998.

The campaign started in September 2025 in Group C alongside Denmark, Greece and Belarus; early on, Scotland opened with a draw against Denmark away, then secured wins such as a 2-0 victory over Belarus and a key home win 3-1 against Greece.

In October, they beat Belarus 2-1 at home to consolidate their position at the top of the group.

The final matchday delivered the dramatic conclusion.

After a nervy 3-2 defeat away to Greece, the showdown against Denmark was a must-win.

Scott McTominay opened the scoring in the third minute with a stunning overhead kick, igniting hope among fans.

Denmark responded with a penalty to level, and despite going down to 10 men after a red card, they fought back.

Kieran Tierney curled in a beautiful strike in the 93rd minute, and just moments later, Kenny McLean lobbed the Danish goalkeeper from near halfway to seal the victory.

Wales' and Northern Ireland World Cup Qualifying Campaign 

Wales began their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 3-1 home win over Kazakhstan in March 2025, thanks to goals from Daniel James, Ben Davies and a stoppage-time strike by Rabbi Matondo.

That promising start kept hopes alive under manager Craig Bellamy.

However, a home fixture against Belgium delivered a bitter 4-2 defeat, undermining Wales’ chances of automatic qualification despite a bright start when Joe Rodon gave them an early lead.

Determined to stay in contention, Wales later earned a narrow but vital 1-0 away win over Liechtenstein in November, with Jordan James scoring a late winner to keep their play-off hopes alive.

The real statement, however, came on the final matchday of group play when Wales demolished North Macedonia 7-1, a result that confirmed their second-place finish in Group J and secured them a spot in the European play-offs rather than automatic qualification.

As a result, Wales will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in a play-off semi-final on home soil next March.

A win there would lead them to a final play-off match, potentially against either Italy or Northern Ireland, for a place at the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Northern Ireland finished third in their group after a dramatic late defeat in Slovakia, but thanks to their strong record in the Nations League they have secured a place in the play-offs.

Their campaign began brightly in September 2025 with a 3-1 away victory over Luxembourg.

They returned home to defeat the Slovakia 2-0, a result that kept them firmly in contention with the group’s leading teams.

However, a home loss 0-1 to Germany proved costly.

Their final group game yielded a narrow 1-0 win over Luxembourg, a first competitive goal from youngster Jamie Donley via a penalty, giving a measure of closure to the group stage.

Northern Ireland now enter the March 2026 play-offs.

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