Archive October 14, 2025

England secured their place at the 2026 World Cup with a comfortable victory against Latvia on Tuesday night.

Jordan Pickford – Pulled off a couple of good saves in the second half to maintain his impressive clean sheet record. That’s nine in a row now. 6.5

Djed Spence – Has taken to international football like a duck to water. Sterner tests lie ahead, of course, but a good start to his England career. 7

John Stones – Two games in five days will do the Manchester City defender a world of good. Still one of the first names on the team-sheet, fitness permitting. 7

Ezri Konza – Selected ahead of Marc Guehi and didn’t put a foot wrong. Made an excellent last-ditch recovery tackle in the second half to boot. 7

Myles Lewis-Skelly – Looked a little ring rusty at times, understandable given his lack of action at Arsenal. An interesting few months ahead. 6

Elliott Anderson – Looks undroppable in this England team at the moment. Looks made for this level and has struck up an excellent partnership with Rice. 7

Declan Rice – Enjoying his nuumber eight role. The mainstay of England’s midfield is showing his attacking abilities now. Emerging us a genuine all-round midfielder. 7

Morgan Rogers – Not as impactful as he has been in England’s victories over Serbia and Wales. We should find out next month who is the true owner of the number 10 shirt. 6

Bukayo Saka – Added an assist to his excellent goal against Wales last Thursday. Will be crucial to England’s chances next summer. 7.5

Harry Kane – In the form of his life. Took his tally for the season to 20 goals. Has hit the back of the net 76 times for his country. Can he reach 100? 8

Jordan Henderson (for Rice 60) – Kept things moving in midfield. 6

Eberechi Eze (for Rogers 60) – Excellently taken goal and a threat. 7

Jarrod Bowen (for Saka 60) – Has a fight on his hands to make the squad when everyone’s fit. 6

Dan Burn (for Stones 71) – As you’d expect, dealt with everything aerially. 6

England sealed their place at the 2026 World Cup when Thomas Tuchel’s side defeated Latvia to qualify with two games to spare.

It means Three Lions fans can now start their preparations for next summer’s tournament whether they are going to it or watching on television.

The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

It is the first time the tournament will be hosted by three different nations.

The opening match will take place on 11 June 2026 in Mexico City, with the final on 19 July in New Jersey.

The tournament is being expanded to include 48 teams for the first time and as a result it will last a record 39 days.

It has doubled in size since the last time the tournament was held in the United States, when 24 teams competed for the trophy in 1994.

Sixteen cities will host games during next summer’s World Cup – 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada.

These are the 2026 World Cup host cities:

USA: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle.

Mexico: Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey.

The draw for the group stage will be held on Friday, 5 December at 17:00 GMT.

It will take place at John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington DC.

The first batch of tickets went on sale at the start of October, with more than 4.5m fans entering a draw for a chance to buy them.

Fifa has not formally revealed a full price list, but they are being listed online by fans who were successful in the draw after spending hours in digital queues.

General admission tickets are being split into four categories, with those for the first match in the USA costing between $560 (£417) and $2,235 (£1,662).

The cheapest ticket for the 2026 final costs $2,030 (£1,510), and the most expensive is $6,000 (£4,462). Hospitality tickets, meanwhile, are yet to go on sale but will almost certainly be priced significantly higher.

Some tickets for matches early in the tournament – in a few of the less prestigious locations – are available for $60 (£44), but stadium map images show they are a tiny proportion of available seats.

The second phase of ticketing will begin on Monday, 27 October, with the Early Ticket Draw that will run until 31 October. This will involve an application process followed by a randomised selection.

A random selection draw will take place shortly after the groups are drawn on 5 December, during which fans can apply for specific matches.

A last-minute sales phase will take place closer to the tournament, during which fans will be able to purchase any remaining inventory on a first come, first served basis.

Fifa is adopting a ‘dynamic’ pricing model for the tournament, meaning ticket prices for matches deemed high demand could be raised significantly during later sales periods.

England have secured their place at next summer’s tournament, along with 27 other teams.

Argentina, the world champions, are among those to have qualified but there are still 20 spots to fill.

The countries that have already secured their spot are:

Hosts: Canada, Mexico, United States.

Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan.

Europe: England.

Oceania: New Zealand.

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay.

Of those countries, three have qualified for the World Cup for the first time in their history – Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan.

The United States will host 78 of the 104 fixtures, including the final.

There have been a number of political assassinations in the US so far in 2025, and were more than 500 mass shootings across the country in 2024.

Forced deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have also increased on the orders of President Donald Trump, who has deployed National Guard troops in Democrat-led cities, including Los Angeles, which will host eight matches.

ICE and National Guard deployments have drawn mass protests from some communities in some cities, and Trump has threatened to force matches to be moved from cities he deems “unsafe”.

In March, he claimed the political and economic tensions between the US and co-hosts Canada and Mexico would be good for the tournament.

Heat was an issue at the Club World Cup in the USA this summer and will once again be a concern for next year’s World Cup.

Paris St-Germain manager Luis Enrique complained about his team having to play in near 40-degree heat in their Club World Cup opener against Atletico Madrid in Los Angeles, which started at noon local time.

Numerous coaches and players were affected by the heat and humidity, with Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez complaining of dizziness while playing.

Fifa is likely to schedule World Cup matches involving major European nations after midnight UK time in an effort to combat heat issues.

Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.

We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.

The team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits.

We will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world’s biggest sporting events.

England sealed their place at the 2026 World Cup when Thomas Tuchel’s side defeated Latvia to qualify with two games to spare.

It means Three Lions fans can now start their preparations for next summer’s tournament whether they are going to it or watching on television.

The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

It is the first time the tournament will be hosted by three different nations.

The opening match will take place on 11 June 2026 in Mexico City, with the final on 19 July in New Jersey.

The tournament is being expanded to include 48 teams for the first time and as a result it will last a record 39 days.

It has doubled in size since the last time the tournament was held in the United States, when 24 teams competed for the trophy in 1994.

Sixteen cities will host games during next summer’s World Cup – 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada.

These are the 2026 World Cup host cities:

USA: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle.

Mexico: Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey.

The draw for the group stage will be held on Friday, 5 December at 16:00 GMT.

It will take place at John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington DC.

The first batch of tickets went on sale at the start of October, with more than 4.5m fans entering a draw for a chance to buy them.

Fifa has not formally revealed a full price list, but they are being listed online by fans who were successful in the draw after spending hours in digital queues.

General admission tickets are being split into four categories, with those for the first match in the USA costing between $560 (£417) and $2,235 (£1,662).

The cheapest ticket for the 2026 final costs $2,030 (£1,510), and the most expensive is $6,000 (£4,462). Hospitality tickets, meanwhile, are yet to go on sale but will almost certainly be priced significantly higher.

Some tickets for matches early in the tournament – in a few of the less prestigious locations – are available for $60 (£44), but stadium map images show they are a tiny proportion of available seats.

The second phase of ticketing will begin on Monday, 27 October, with the Early Ticket Draw that will run until 31 October. This will involve an application process followed by a randomised selection.

A random selection draw will take place shortly after the groups are drawn on 5 December, during which fans can apply for specific matches.

A last-minute sales phase will take place closer to the tournament, during which fans will be able to purchase any remaining inventory on a first come, first served basis.

Fifa is adopting a ‘dynamic’ pricing model for the tournament, meaning ticket prices for matches deemed high demand could be raised significantly during later sales periods.

England have secured their place at next summer’s tournament, along with 27 other teams.

Argentina, the world champions, are among those to have qualified but there are still 20 spots to fill.

The countries that have already secured their spot are:

Hosts: Canada, Mexico, United States.

Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan.

Europe: England.

Oceania: New Zealand.

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay.

Of those countries, three have qualified for the World Cup for the first time in their history – Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan.

The United States will host 78 of the 104 fixtures, including the final.

There have been a series of political assassinations in the US so far in 2025, and were more than 500 mass shootings across the country in 2024.

Forced deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have also increased on the orders of President Donald Trump, who has deployed National Guard troops in Democrat-led cities, including Los Angeles, which will host eight matches.

ICE and National Guard deployments have drawn mass protests from distrustful communities in some cities, and Trump has threatened to force matches to be moved from cities he deems “unsafe”.

In March, he claimed the political and economic tensions between the US and co-hosts Canada and Mexico would be good for the tournament.

Heat was an issue at the Club World Cup in the USA this summer and will once again be a concern for next year’s World Cup.

Paris St-Germain manager Luis Enrique complained about his team having to play in near 40-degree heat in their Club World Cup opener against Atletico Madrid in Los Angeles, which started at noon local time.

Numerous coaches and players were affected by the heat and humidity, with Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez complaining of dizziness while playing.

Fifa is likely to schedule World Cup matches involving major European nations after midnight UK time in an effort to combat heat issues.

Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.

We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.

The team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits.

We will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world’s biggest sporting events.

England have qualified for the 2026 World Cup with victory over Latvia on Tuesday.

The win continues Thomas Tuchel’s 100% record in competitive matches since starting his role as head coach in January.

Who would feature in your first XI for next year’s tournament in North America, Canada and Mexico?