"England and Scotland will discover their 2026 World Cup groups on Friday teatime. The draw for the group stage will be made in Washington D.C., with proceedings set to get under way at 5pm UK time. The permutations are seemingly endless and very complicated. One nightmare scenario for England would be to get Croatia, Panama and Jordan, while Scotland would be keen to avoid a draw putting them in with Argentina, Morocco and potentially Italy."
"Rather than rely on gut feeling about which sides might be better or worse, we're going to go off the FIFA World Rankings and give England the lowest-ranked possible sides at each step. England are in pot 1, so will need to be drawn with sides from pots 2, 3 and 4. The first two are easy: it's Australia and South Africa, respectively."
The 2026 World Cup group-stage draw will take place in Washington D.C. on Friday at 5pm UK time, determining England's and Scotland's groups. Many complex permutations exist, including nightmare possibilities such as England facing Croatia, Panama and Jordan, or Scotland being drawn with Argentina, Morocco and potentially Italy. Using FIFA World Rankings, an ideal England group would pair England (pot 1) with Australia (pot 2), South Africa (pot 3) and a low-ranked pot 4 side, with confederation rules preventing multiple AFC or CAF teams in the same group. Inter-confederation play-off winners could alter available teams.
Read at www.fourfourtwo.com
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