Adam Clery Football Column. A newsletter that unpacks the absurdities and oddities of the beautiful gameThe ACFC newsletter: unpacking football’s absurditiesUnpack football’s oddities with the ACFC newsletterEngland are guaranteed to avoid giants Spain, France and Argentina until the latter stages of next summer’s World Cup if all four countries top their groups.Fifa has introduced seeding to the draw for the 2026 tournament, meaning the top four seeded countries will not meet each other until the semi-finals.The top four seeded countries are Spain, Argentina, France, and England in that order.Third seeds France and fourth seeds England have been paired, meaning they have been separated into the two halves of the knockout format and cannot meet until the final, in a similar format to Wimbledon.Spain and Argentina have also been paired, meaning the earliest England could face either side is in the semi-finals.All of these permutations apply if the four top seeds win their groups, with the idea being that Fifa can avoid blockbuster matches happening early in the tournament and top sides sending each other out before the latter stages. The World Cup draw will be held on 5th December. All four top seeded teams have been placed in Pot 1. The hosts, Canada, Mexico, and the USA, are all in Pot 1. Who will England play? Four groups will have two Uefa nations because there are only 16 qualifiers that can fit into 12 group. This means England is limited to one other European nation. Four groups will have two Uefa nations because there are 16 qualifiers to fit into 12 groups – so England will face a maximum of one other European nation.In addition to avoiding the other three seeds and three host countries, England will avoid drawing Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany in their group as a result of being placed in the same pot.They could however face Scotland, who have been drawn in Pot 3, or any one of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales if they qualify; should those three sides make it through the play-offs, they will be drawn in Pot 4.England’s opponents therefore will be three of: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, Korea Republic, Ecuador, Austria, Australia (all Pot 2); Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa (all Pot 3);…
Try WordAi Free
2025-11-25 17:47:15
