World Cup draw LIVE: England to discover qualifying group

So how does today’s qualifying draw actually work?

Well, teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four and five teams, with traditional home-and-away matches and “all play all” principles retained. Those in groups of five will begin their campaigns in March 2025, while the groups of four will not get underway until September. In total, 16 teams will qualify for the tournament.

The other thing that this week has served to highlight is the outsized power that Fifa president Gianni Infantino has amassed. Miguel Delaney examines the structure that has allowed both Infantino and Uefa counterpart Aleksander Ceferin to become almost autocratic in their leadership of the sport.

Many lives will be put at risk by the decision to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, human rights campaign group Amnesty International has warned.

Securing the tournament is arguably the most significant sporting step taken so far by Saudi Arabia, which has been accused of efforts to ‘sportswash’ its reputation through linking itself to major competitions, clubs and events.

Amnesty and other human rights groups have warned about what they see as the multiple risks attached to a Saudi World Cup, and believe Fifa has failed to learn lessons from handing the 2022 event to Qatar.

Focus switches back to the 2026 tournament today but it’s been a busy week for World Cup news. Here’s Miguel Delaney on the rather absurd scenes on Wednesday:

Thomas Tuchel is incoming then, with one simple remit: go and win it.

We know England have reached consecutive Euros finals, but what about the World Cup? Here’s the recent (and not so recent) form….

• 2022 Qatar – quarter-finals
• 2018 Russia – fourth place
• 2014 Brazil – group stage
• 2010 South Africa – round of 16
• 2006 Germany – quarter-finals
• 2002 Korea/Japan – quarter-finals
• 1998 France – round of 16

The message to Lee Carsley consisted of two words. The message from him was longer. The big screens at either end of Wembley after beating Ireland displayed the thoughts of the FA, which seemed echoed by the England team: “Thank you.” And yet, Carsley suggested, goodbye may not be forever.

He will retreat into the shadows, where an unassuming man often seems most comfortable, to return to the lower-profile task of managing the Under-21s.

But Thomas Tuchel only has an 18-month contract. Carsley can seem the anti-Tuchel, without the charisma or the powers of communication, the medal collection or the spells in charge of superpower clubs. He hands over to the German, offering to give him a comprehensive debrief, but with a renewed belief he could be his successor.

Jordan Pickford said his top target is to win the World Cup 2026 after twice coming so close to securing England’s first major men’s trophy in decades.

The goalkeeper played in the finals of Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 when England lost to Italy on penalties and Spain, courtesy of a late goal.

Pickford is encouraged by the appointment of the Champions League-winning manager Thomas Tuchel as England look to end a wait for silverware that dates back to the 1966 World Cup.

“The new manager is going to come in January and he’s a winner,” said Pickford. “Our main target is to get to USA and lift that trophy. Our focus is definitely… because we’ve been so close, we want to go that one step further.”

Good morning all – for those desperately awaiting the next installment of international football, you’re in luck: no action on the pitch today, but the planning for the road to glory in Mexico, Canada and the USA starts here.

We’ve got the Uefa zone qualifying group draw coming up, with England and the other home nations ready to see who stands in their way to reach the finals for the World Cup in 2026.