Tuchel's Three Lions ready to roar into World Cup

ENGLAND and Portugal are in pole position to win their respective 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying groups with two games to spare, with several other European nations also hoping to secure berths at the finals in the upcoming matches.

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Norway may also be only one victory away from reaching the tournament for the first time since 1998, which would leave Italy staring at a third successive World Cup watching from the sidelines.

Thomas Tuchel's England laid down a marker last month with an impressive 5-0 thrashing of Serbia in Belgrade and are yet to concede a goal in five qualifiers. They are not in Group K action until Tuesday when a victory over Latvia in Riga would secure a place at next year's finals in the US, Mexico and Canada, if Serbia do not beat Albania on Saturday.

England boast a seven-point lead over Albania with three matches to play, with Serbia a point further back but with a game in hand. Several players, who were not previously considered first-choice, starred in Serbia, leading Tuchel to leave out big names Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish from his latest squad.

"Keep on pushing," Tuchel said, to those missing out.