England’s potential opponents for the first knockout round of the World Cup has become much clearer after the latest round of matches. The Three Lions, who have four points from their opening two games and currently occupy top spot in Group L, are currently scheduled to meet Ecuador in the next round.
That is, however, not yet confirmed, and Thomas Tuchel and Co. will first face Panama on Saturday night in their final group game of the tournament, where England will want to book their spot as group winners.
Even though England are not in action on Thursday night, results from the games taking place on that day have affected which teams the Three Lions could face in the round of 32.
After the conclusion of the 12am and 3am kick-offs in the early hours of Friday morning, England are currently pencilled in to face Ecuador in the next round, following their epic comeback win over Germany. There is still time for that to change over the next couple of days, though.
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If the schedule were to stay as it currently stands, the Three Lions would take on Ecuador on Wednesday, July 1, in Atlanta, in a 5pm kick-off UK time.
England will get more clarity on who their opponents will be over the next couple of days, particularly after their clash against Panama over the weekend.
There is still a chance that Ghana could leapfrog England to the top of Group L, which would dramatically affect which team Tuchel’s men could be drawn against in the next round. Ghana are currently scheduled to face Portugal next Friday in a midnight kick-off.
England striker Harry Kane has already previewed the match against Panama and has opened up on some of the decisions that Tuchel could make for the fixture.
View 2 ImagesHarry Kane is England’s top scorer at the World Cup so far(Image: Getty Images)
“I think the boss will be clear on his decisions, it wouldn’t surprise me if he made some changes anyway and just kept the team fresh,” Kane said.
“He knows, as well as all of us, there is an extra game as well, so a long way to go, and we are in a good spot.
“Panama, we expect probably a bit of a different game, so whoever plays in that one will be ready, will be energetic from the start, and probably won’t face as much of a low block.
“There will be periods where we have to break it down for sure, but that’s what the squad is for. There are another six games to go, hopefully, so a lot of football to be played, and whoever’s on the pitch, the guys will be ready.”
Meanwhile, four round of 32 matches have now been confirmed following the results on Thursday and Friday morning.
Co-hosts Canada will take on South Africa, while Brazil will face Japan in their first knockout fixture. Later, the Netherlands will take on Morocco, while the United States have already been confirmed as facing Bosnia & Herzegovina in the next round.
World Cup round of 32 fixtures confirmed so far
South Africa vs Canada – June 28 (8pm UK time)
Brazil vs Japan – June 29 (6pm UK time)
Netherlands vs Morocco – June 30 (2am UK time)
United States vs Bosnia & Herzegovina – July 2 (1am UK time)
World Cup round of 32 fixtures as things stand…
Germany vs Paraguay – June 29th (9.30pm UK time)
Ivory Coast vs Norway – June 30th (6pm UK time)
France vs Sweden – June 30th (10pm UK time)
Mexico vs Scotland – July 1st (2am UK time)
England vs Ecuador – July 1st (5pm UK time)
Egypt vs South Korea – July 1st (9pm UK time)
Spain vs Austria – July 2nd (8pm UK time)
Portugal vs Ghana – July 3rd (12am UK time)
Switzerland vs Algeria – July 3rd (4am UK time)
Australia vs Iran – July 3rd (7pm UK time)
Argentina vs Uruguay – July 3rd (11pm UK time)
Colombia vs Croatia – July 4th (2.30am UK time)
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