’Strong opponents!’ - Thomas Tuchel & Harry Kane react to England’s 2026 World Cup qualifying draw

The Three Lions will play Serbia, Albania, Latvia, and Andorra in Group K after the European qualifying draw took place in Zurich earlier today. Kane responded to the draw on Instagram, posting a screenshot of the group captioned: "Looking forward to getting started on the road to the 2026 World Cup", while England posted a longer video of Tuchel reacting to the news and giving credit to England's "strong opponents".

Tuchel's side will be heavy favourites to win the group, especially considering how consistently strong the England men's team have been in recent qualifying campaigns. However, there certainly will be some tough challenges on the way; in particular, the fixtures against Serbia — who made things difficult for England in the group stages of Euro 2024 — and Albania, who equipped themselves well in the same tournament's 'group of death', getting a point against 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia and narrowly losing to Italy and tournament winners Spain.

Tuchel said: "Today was kick-off, a very exciting day. We know our group, four opponents, strong opponents: Serbia, Albania, Latvia - which is a new challenge for all of us - and Andorra. I can't wait to start in January and can't wait to see you in March when we play our first matches. Let's keep things going together."

This draw marks the start of a new dawn for England, with their first-ever German manager taking charge on January 1. After a short break from club football, the 51-year-old seems fresh and excited about the new challenge ahead. That's not a huge surprise — the talent in England's ranks means he will be confident he can lead the country to glory at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, and end almost 60 years of hurt.