England have had the luxury of being able to prepare for the 2026 World Cup campaign months ago after easing through their qualification campaign.
They scored an impressive 22 goals and won all eight group matches without conceding a single goal to secure top spot in Group K, and will find out their World Cup opponents when the draw is held on December 5, 5pm UK time.
In the months building up to the World Cup, which will be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico, Thomas Tuchel will be aiming to fine-tune his squad to get them ready for the challenge ahead.
England are already being heavily tipped as the favourites to win the upcoming World Cup on several top UK betting sites, mounting even more pressure on the Three Lions to deliver.
Who Will England Play Next?
England’s schedule ahead of the World Cup is still being finalised, but there have been reports that friendlies are being planned against Uruguay and Japan. (1)
It’s also suggested that both friendlies will be held at Wembley in England’s final home fixtures before the World Cup (2).
However, fixtures won’t be confirmed until after the World Cup draw, in case England are pitted against one of them in their group.
Before the 2024 European Championships, Gareth Southgate’s England played two friendlies in March against Brazil and Belgium.
The England squad didn’t meet again until a few weeks before the start of the tournament in June, when they played two more friendlies against Bosnia and Iceland.
Tuchel will likely follow a similar plan, and England’s next fixtures will likely take place in March 2026.
But whether England can play two more friendlies in the weeks before the World Cup starts will be dependent on when their first group game is scheduled.
The earliest England’s World Cup campaign could start is June 13 if they are drawn in Group C, but that could be pushed back to June 17 if they find themselves in Group K or L.
That leaves a tight turnaround for the England players with the Premier League and La Liga seasons ending on May 24 and the Champions League final on May 30.
Tuchel will likely want his squad at their pre-tournament training camp as soon as possible to acclimatise to the heat.
The German head coach had England players training in heated tents this summer to try and replicate the harsh conditions they will likely face next year (3).
Some England players have already had an experience of the extreme weather after playing in the 2025 Club World Cup, which was held in the United States.
Tuchel has said that he expects not only his players, but all players, to ‘suffer’ in the heat next year.
“Let’s see because it is after the season, so it will be very similar,” he said in June 2025.
“The actual experience is for the players, but I have done pre-season there in Orlando and I will be very surprised if we do not suffer.
“Suffering is one of the headlines for this World Cup.”
(1) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/crkl34lrd8ko
(2) https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/oct/07/england-uruguay-japan-friendlies-2026-world-cup-preparations
(3) https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/england-thomas-tuchel-world-cup-qualifiers-andorra-senegal-b2762659.html
