ZURICH: Thomas Tuchel’s first official duty as England coach on Friday was to see his new team drawn in a 2026 World Cup qualifying group with Serbia, Albania, Latvia and Andorra.
Tuchel starts work in January as the first German coach of the 1966 World Cup winner but was at FIFA headquarters to see the 54 European teams drawn into 12 qualifying groups. Games start in March for some groups, while others will begin in June or September.
“It’s a difficult group, is my first impression,” said Tuchel, who must wait for FIFA to approve the fixture list to see if his England debut will be a qualifying game in March or a warm-up friendly.
Europe will send 16 teams to the first 48-team World Cup, being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The 12 group winners next November advance directly and runners-up go to a playoff in March 2026, joined by four more teams who won a Nations League group last month.
England are one of the few top-seeded teams to already know their qualifying opponents. Most groups are still incomplete as eight top-seeded teams will be placed based on the results of their Nations League quarterfinals in March.
The winner of the quarterfinal between European champion Spain and the Netherlands faces a tough Group E with Turkiye, Georgia and Bulgaria.
Spain ended Georgia’s impressive run at their first major tournament, winning 4-1 in the round of 16 at Euro 2024 in Germany.
Georgia coach Willy Sagnol acknowledged “it will be a difficult group,” with Turkiye having lost a Euro 2024 quarterfinal to the Netherlands.
The loser between Spain and the Netherlands be in a five-team group with Poland, Finland, Lithuania and Malta that shapes to be less challenging.
The winner between France and Croatia in March will head Group D with Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan. The loser of that Nations League quarterfinal will be in the five-team Group L with the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Faeroe Islands and Gibraltar.
For Germany and Italy, the group draw could be an added incentive to win their Nations League meeting and land in Group A.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann acknowledged it would be “a bit easier” to play in a four-team group with Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg. The loser will face Erling Haaland and Norway in a five-team group that also includes, Israel, Estonia and Moldova. Israel have been unable to host games for security reasons since the Hamas attacks in October last year, and likely will continue playing home games in Hungary.
Russia were excluded from Friday’s draw because their teams are banned from international competitions by FIFA and UEFA since the military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia’s military ally Belarus, which will play in a group with either Portugal or Denmark, plus Greece and Scotland, have been forced to host games in neutral countries because of the war.
One security challenge could arise in England’s group, with Serbia set to host Albania for the first time since the famous “drone game” in 2014 between the Balkan near-neighbors.
A decade ago, the game in Belgrade abandoned after a fan outside the stadium flew a drone over the field with an Albanian nationalist banner, leading to clashes between players and a field invasion by Serbian fans. UEFA awarded Serbia a win by default that was overturned on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, ultimately sending Albania to their tournament debut at Euro 2016.
Soccer relations between Serbia and Albania — at federation level, if not among ultras fan groups — are much improved and they are set to be confirmed Monday as co-hosts of the Under-21 Euros in 2027.

LONDON: Pep Guardiola admits troubled Manchester City will not recapture their peak form until his injury-plagued side are finally whole again.
Guardiola’s fourth-placed side head into Sunday’s derby against Manchester United reeling after a dismal run of one win in 10 games in all competitions.
A 2-0 defeat at Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday left City in danger of failing to make the last 16, while they are languishing eight points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
After winning an unprecedented four successive Premier League titles and six in the last seven seasons, City have looked more vulnerable than ever before in the Guardiola era.
The City boss attributes their stunning decline on injuries to key players, mostly notably Spain midfielder Rodri, who won the prestigious Ballon d’Or award earlier this year.
Rodri, who helped Spain win Euro 2024, is not expected back from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee for several months, although he has hinted he could feature at some point this season.
“What I want is my players back. The complete squad we had at the beginning of the season. My regret is that we don’t have these and not needing new ones,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
“We have known it from the beginning but Rodri is a Ballon d’Or player. We are playing without the best player in England last season. That is the problem.
“Not one other team plays with a central midfielder who has a Ballon d’Or. It is difficult. The moment he comes back, we will be strong again. We will be a good team.
“Of course, we still have to try and play the same way and to win. Sooner or later we are going to be back.”
With City mired in such a woeful period, the champions have been linked with new signings in the January transfer window.
On the day City announced record Premier League revenues of £715 million ($903 million). Guardiola didn’t rule out the possibility when it was put to him that reinforcements were needed to save their season.
“If we need players then we go to the transfer market but I don’t know who is around,” he said.
“Massive congratulations on the accounts because the club must be sustainable. That doesn’t mean we have big resources to buy whatever we want, especially with how expensive the transfer market is.”
Beating United at the Etihad Stadium this weekend would be a significant boost to Guardiola’s hopes of ending City’s spiral.
The Spaniard, who recently signed a new two-year contract, vowed to solve City’s crisis eventually and claimed he was not feeling under pressure.
“In our jobs we will always do our best and when the best doesn’t happen you are more uncomfortable than when the situation is going well. As a manager you are in scrutiny for every step of the team,” he said.
“But I am fine. I have more thoughts at this moment but what I feel right now is the same as what I’ve said for the last few weeks or month.
“We have to shoot more and cut out the mistakes. But we have been in the games.
“We have not been consistent for the 90 minutes but I know the reason why. We just have to keep working and moving forward.”
Adding to Guardiola’s mounting problems, Swiss defender Manuel Akanji has been ruled out of the Manchester derby with a pelvic injury.