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England and Tuchel handed favourable World Cup draw
The Independent
|December 14, 2024
Thomas Tuchel's England have been drawn against Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
The German officially takes over as head coach on 1 January and will take heart from the draw: England have never lost to any of the teams they will face on the road to the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Scotland are in a four-team group, and will face the loser of the Nations League quarter-final tie between Portugal and Denmark, along with Greece and Belarus. Steve Clarke’s men also face Greece in a Nations League promotion-relegation playoff in March.
Wales have drawn Belgium, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein as they aim to qualify for a second successive World Cup. Wales met Belgium in qualifying for the last World Cup, and even more recently in the 2022 Nations League. They famously beat Belgium 3-1 to reach the semi-finals of Euro 2016, but have not won any of the sides’ subsequent four meetings.
The Republic of Ireland have been drawn against the winner of the Portugal v Denmark Nations League tie, along with Hungary and Romania. Like Scotland, the Republic face a Nations League promotion-relegation play-off tie in March, in their case against Bulgaria.
This story is from the December 14, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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