England set to play Uruguay & Japan ahead of 2026 World Cup

The Three Lions will play Croatia in their first World Cup 2026 game.

Before head coach Thomas Tuchel selects his final team for the 2026 World Cup, England will play two last matches at Wembley Stadium in March against Uruguay and Japan.

Tuchel is expected to reveal his team in May. The Three Lions will play Uruguay on Friday, March 27, and Japan on Tuesday, March 31.

Uruguay are ranked 16th in FIFA’s men’s rankings, while Japan are ranked 18th. Both nations have guaranteed slots at the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in Canada, Mexico, and the United States from June 11 to July 19.

Thomas Tuchel speaks on England’s March friendlies

WC 2026 Group L includes Croatia, Ghana, and Panama. England are scheduled to play two warm-up matches before the event in America.

“We are really pleased to have these two fixtures confirmed as our World Cup year takes shape,” said Tuchel.

“We wanted to play two teams ranked in the top 20 in the world, but also to test ourselves against opponents from outside of Europe.”

Tuchel‘s side will be playing all three of their group matches in the United States. The first two fixtures will be against Croatia and Ghana. After these 17 June and 23 June games, on June 27, they will play their last group match against Panama.

Uruguay, which FIFA ranks 16th in the world, will be England’s first opponent in 2026. This match will be Uruguay’s first trip to England in twenty years.

In their most recent encounter on British soil, Peter Crouch and Joe Cole helped the Three Lions win 2-1 at Anfield in 2006. The two countries last faced off at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where England lost 2-1.

Tuchel mentioned that to make sure the quality of competition was strong enough, he especially looked for opponents who were among the top 20 in the world.

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