England to play DR Congo in FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout stage

England's place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout stage was confirmed without even playing the night before their final group stage match against Panama on Saturday 27 June.

And then they secured top spot in Group L with a 2-0 victory, putting them on seven points. Croatia finished second on six points, while Ghana qualified as one of the best third-place finishers.

Why qualification came early

Results elsewhere in the early hours of Saturday 27 June meant that Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions were guaranteed to be at least be one of the eight best third-place finishers in the group stage before they went two places better in the Group L finale.

In the final Group H games earlier on Saturday, Uruguay lost by 1-0 against Spain to finish in third place with two points, while Cabo Verde drew 0-0 with Saudi Arabia to seal second-spot in the group.

That meant England's qualification for the round of 32 was confirmed, as there was no longer eight teams who could finish on four points in third place and have a chance of beating England's record. 

The World Cup knockout stages

As England finished top of Group L, they will play the third-placed team from Group K at 5pm BST on Wednesday 1 July in Atlanta. Following the final games in Group K in the early hours of Sunday morning, DR Congo beat Uzbekistan to seal third place behind Colombia and Portugal and a place in the Round of 32 against England.

Should the Three Lions progress beyond the Round of 32, what would their route through the knockout rounds look like?

Round of 16

If we were to progress from the Round of 32, then it would be down to Mexico City where we would face the winner of host nation Mexico's tie against one of these third-placed finishers: Ecuador, Sweden or Senegal. It would be on Monday 6 July at 1am BST.

Quarter-final

England would travel to Miami, a familiar location where the squad's pre-tournament camp took place, on Saturday 11 July (10pm BST).

Semi-final

If England win in Florida, we'd be back off to Atlanta for the semi-final, with that game staged on Wednesday 15 July (8pm BST).

The Final weekend

The FIFA 2026 World Cup Final will take place on Sunday 19 July (8pm BST) at the New York-New Jersey Stadium.

There is also a bronze match to decide third place, scheduled in Miami on Saturday 18 July (10pm BST).