Thomas Tuchel has revealed his feelings regarding England’s qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup as he prepares for his first game in charge
Thomas Tuchel has learned his opening fixtures as the new England manager as the 2026 World Cup qualifying groups were announced.
The Three lions will face Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra in their path to the World Cup in two years. Placed in Group K, Tuchel will now be looking ahead to these qualifying fixtures as he hopes to impress in his new role.
Most of the teams in the group will be familiar faces to England fans. They played Serbia in their opening group stages match in the Euro 2024. The Three Lions have beaten both Albania and Andorra before in World Cup qualifying but have never played Latvia. The first fixture in the group will be played in March next year.
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In England’s most recent World Cup qualifying group, they topped it without losing a single game. The final game from that group saw England thrash San Marino 10-0 away from home. Looking ahead to their 2025 matchups, Tuchel said it was a priority to qualify.
He told Sky Sports: “I have huge respect for Serbia and for Albania, they can always surprise [you]. They have a strong history of technical football, emotional crowds, two legends as managers.
“England have never played Latvia so it’s a new experience for all of us and we have Andorra where we are huge favourites. But we have to qualify, this is the most important. There cannot be any other approach that take it seriously and with respect.”
Although the former Chelsea boss was announced as the new England manager in early October, he hasn’t officially started the job yet. The FA chief executive Mark Bullingham had stated that the German’s sole focus was on the 2026 World Cup. He would let interim boss Lee Carsley to play out the remaining UEFA Nations League games.
Tuchel officially starts on January 1st 2025. Heading into the new year with a clean slate, and a recharged battery after leaving Bayern Munich last June, the new England manager will be set to take the Three Lions to North America in 2026.