England World Cup Draw: Who Could the Three Lions Face in 2026 World Cup?
The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place on Friday at 5pm, and here at Free Bets we are counting down the hours, as excitement grows.
Of course, we want to see it all, but the England World Cup draw is at the top of our thoughts. Who will the Three Lions draw next summer, and what does their path to the final look like.
When the draw is complete, we'll bring you all the information and reaction you need, but first up, here's a look at who England could draw in their group.
England World Cup Draw: How it Works
As ever, the draw for the 2026 World Cup will be seeded, with four different pots housing the teams involved. There will be plenty of reaction from betting sites after the draw, but big nations will be kept apart to a certain extent.
Top seeds, including England are in pot one, the next best pot two, then three and finally, the lowest ranked teams will be in pot four.
the fourth pot will also be home to those who qualify from the playoffs, regardless of their ranking, that's where Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will be, if they qualify.
As for Scotland, they're in pot 3 after their dramatic qualification.
World Cup Draw Restrictions
There's plenty of rules around the draw, it's certainly not straight forward, and important to understand before you start your World Cup betting.
One in particular stands out, and it could prevent England from facing Scotland in the group stage.
A cap of two European teams are allowed to be in the same group. The groups are drawn in pot order, so the first team to join England will come from pot two. There are three European teams in that pot, if one of those comes out, then England will not be able to get another European team in their group, so that means no Scotland.
Who Could England Face in Pot 2?
There are 12 teams in pot 2 that England could face. Three are from Europe, so should one of these come out, the chances of them playing Scotland, or another home nation, are gone.
Best case scenario? Probably Austria or Australia, who England should have no trouble getting by.
Worst case scenario? Croatia, Morocco, Uruguay, Colombia and Japan are all more than capable of giving England a game.
- Croatia
- Morocco
- Colombia
- Uruguay
- Switzerland
- Japan
- Senegal
- Iran
- South Korea
- Ecuador
- Austria
- Australia
Who Could England Face in Pot 3?
This is where England could be pitted against Scotland. This pot has a real mix of teams, and certainly some banana skins in there that England would prefer to avoid, and they probably include Scotland.
Best case scenario? Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and South Africa would be favourable draws from this pot.
Worst case scenario? Scotland for sure, while Erling Haaland's Norway and Mo Salah's Egypt are other tricky draws.
- Panama
- Norway
- Egypt
- Algeria
- Scotland
- Paraguay
- Ivory Coast
- Tunisia
- Uzbekistan
- Quatar
- Saudi Arabia
- South Africa
Who Could England Face in Pot 4?
The lower pot has plenty of intrigue, because of the playoff teams that could drop into it. To make life easier, England would prefer almost any European team from pot two or three, to avoid a European playoff winner here in the final pot.
Best case scenario? New Zealand, Haiti, Curacao or anyone from the FIFA playoff round.
Worst case scenario? This all comes if they've not drawn another European team, as then it could be Italy, Wales, Sweden, Turkey, Denmark, Czech Republic or the Republic of Ireland.
- Jordan
- Cape Verde
- Ghana
- Curacao
- Haiti
- New Zealand
- UEFA Playoff A
- UEFA Playoff B
- UEFA Playoff C
- UEFA Playoff D
- FIFA Playoff 1
- FIFA Playoff 2
Latest World Cup 2026 Odds
Ahead of the draw, Spain are favourites to win the World Cup, but that may change as the teams find their fate for the group stage, and beyond.
While it's a little too early to give out any football tips on the World Cup, of course, when the tournament arrives, our experts will be on hand to deliver their thoughts across the games.
Want more from the World Cup? We'll have all the latest betting news as soon as the draw is made on Friday.
