THOMAS Tuchel’s men have to brace themselves for over 6,000 miles of travelling if they want to win the World Cup next summer.
While England weren’t handed the easiest group for the tournament in North America next year, they didn’t get the hardest either with Croatia, Panama and Ghana in store.
However, if England progress as expected, they then have a difficult path and a lot of travelling to boot.
The Three Lions would have to beat host nation Mexico, Brazil and Argentina if they want to end the 60 years of hurt.
The demanding schedule gets underway against Croatia in either Dallas, USA or Toronto, Canada on June 17.
Six days later they will face Ghana in either Boston, USA or another trip north of the border to Toronto.
And finally they will meet Panama, who they hit for six in 2018 with a Harry Kane hat-trick, with New York or Philadelphia hosting on June 27 on the east coast.
The incentive for any nation is always to win the group so they have an easier route through the knockouts, on paper.
This is where it gets complicated for Tuchel’s men. They would face a third-placed side if they win Group L, with the game in Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium.
Their prize for winning that game would be a chance to banish old demons at the Azteca in Mexico City. That’s the site where they were the victims of Diego Maradona’s Hand of God in 1986, but this time they’d potentially face Mexico.
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Assuming the big guns progress as expected, then England would face Brazil and if they won that, Lionel Messi‘s Argentina in Miami and Atlanta respectively.
To confirm: If England win their group, their route could take them to Atlanta, Mexico City, Miami, Atlanta and then if they reached the final, New Jersey.
It has been speculated that England were looking at having their base in Kansas City, but given where their games are expected to take place it’s likely the FA will reconsider.
If England play in Dallas, Boston and New Jersey, win their group and reach the final, they would travel 6,467 miles – and that’s without factoring in where their base will be.
It gets worse if England end up starting in Dallas and play our third match in Philadelphia and then come second in the group. Tuchel’s troops would then have to travel 7,337 miles – again without including the distance of their to-be determined base.
If you’re wondering how we can have a World Cup draw and not know exactly where the games are taking place yet, Fifa have a reason for this.
Football‘s governing body announced on Monday that the details will drop exactly 24 hours after the draw, at 5pm GMT on Saturday, as part of their “reveal show.”
