England was placed in a group with Serbia as the draw for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Europe took place on Friday.

As it prepares to begin life under new coach Thomas Tuchel, England was also drawn alongside Albania, Latvia and Andorra in the five-team Group K.

England, who have qualified for every World Cup since missing the 1994 tournament in the United States, played Serbia in their opening game at Euro 2024, winning 1-0 thanks to a Jude Bellingham goal.

Matches will take place between March and November next year, with the group winners qualifying directly for the World Cup in North America.

The runners-up in each of the 12 qualifying groups will get a second chance via a series of play-offs, with Europe now contributing a total of 16 nations to the expanded 48-team competition.

The exact make-up of the groups is not yet completely clear as it depends on the outcome of the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals next March.

Those series will see reigning European champion Spain face the Netherlands, while Germany plays Italy, Portugal takes on Denmark and France meets Croatia.

The groups in which these teams end up depend on whether they win and progress to the Nations League semifinals next June, or are eliminated.

France, who have been to the last two World Cup finals, will be in a group with Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan should they reach the Nations League final four.

However, should they go out of the Nations League to Croatia in the last eight, they will go into World Cup qualifying Group L with the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faroe Islands and Gibraltar.

Reigning European champion Spain, who also won the last edition of the Nations League, will be in a group with Turkey, Georgia and Bulgaria should it defeat the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.

The loser of Spain’s tie against the Dutch will be placed in Group G with Poland, Finland, Lithuania and Malta.

There are six groups of five teams who will begin qualifying in March, while the six groups of four teams will only start next September.

Scotland, which is bidding to qualify for a first World Cup since 1998, were drawn in Group C in which they will play Greece, Belarus and the loser of the Nations League quarterfinal between Portugal and Denmark.

Greece and Scotland are also due to play each other in a playoff next March to decide who is in the top tier of the next edition of the Nations League.

Wales was drawn in the same group as Belgium, as was already the case in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, when both teams made it to the finals in Qatar.

Those teams will also come up against North Macedonia, Kazakhstan and minnow Liechtenstein in Group J.

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