World Cup: The predicted outcome revealed – and what it means for England
England will be hoping to finally end more than half a century of World Cup heartache by bringing home football’s most sought-after trophy from Qatar.
But the Three Lions face a tough route to the final at the Lusail Stadium in Doha in December.
Gareth Southgate’s side have already taken their first step on the road to international football’s biggest game, having won Group B to land a place in the round of 16.
But, depending on the way results fall, tricky ties against the likes of France, Portugal and Brazil potentially await them.
Here Sky News maps out the route that England could face on the road to the World Cup final.
Depending on the way results fall, tricky ties against the likes of France, Portugal and Brazil potentially await England
Round of 16
One thing we do know for sure is England’s round of 16 opponents.
As winners of Group B, England now face the runners-up of Group A, Senegal, at the Al Bayt stadium at 7pm this Sunday.
The two sides have never met on the football field in their history.
But it promises to be an exciting encounter with the African side, who are ranked 18th in the FIFA World Rankings and have a host of star names including Chelsea stars Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy and Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye.
England face Senegal in the World Cup round of 16 after the Three Lions won Group B and Senegal finished runners-up in Group A
Senegal will, however, be without star forward Sadio Mane.
The Bayern Munich and ex-Liverpool star was ruled out of the World Cup earlier this month after undergoing surgery on a knee injury.
Quarter-finals
If England beat Senegal they will go into the quarter-finals in what will be game 59 of the tournament.
Just like the round of 16, the game will be played at the Al Bayt stadium, at 7pm on Saturday 10 December.
This is where it gets a bit trickier, but England’s most likely opponents at this stage will be France.
Les Bleus look set to top Group D after winning both their opening games ahead of their final group game against Tunisia on Wednesday.
Their round of 16 opponents will be the runners-up of Group C – which is still very much up in the air at this moment.
Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring France’s second goal against Denmark
Poland currently top the group with four points, with Argentina in second on goal difference ahead of Saudi Arabia – who beat the South American side in their opening match.
Argentina face Poland in their final game and although La Albiceleste will be the favourites, they are in for a difficult match.
And even a draw might not be enough for Argentina if either Mexico or Saudi Arabia claim victory in their last game.
While Argentina will be France’s toughest opponents if they finish second in the group, Didier Deschamps’s side will be favourites to win and clinch a quarter-final tie against England.
A game between England and France will be the first World Cup match between the two sides in 40 years.
The last game, at the 1982 World Cup, ended 3-1 to England.
Before that was England’s 2-0 victory in 1966 on the road to the Three Lions’ only World Cup win.
Semi-finals
Again, another tricky prediction given much is still in the balance in the group stages, and England will have to beat one of the tournament’s favourites to get to this stage.
One thing is for certain, if England can make it to the semi-final, they will return to the Al Bayt stadium for a third time for game 62, which will be played at 7pm on Wednesday 14 December.
At the moment, England’s likely semi-final opponents will be Portugal.
England could face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal side in the semi-final
Against the odds, Morocco looks likely to clinch the top spot in Group F. They sit second behind Croatia on goal difference with bottom side Canada left to play.
Croatia faces a stuttering Belgium side, with the winner of that game clinching the other spot.
Presuming it is Morocco, they face a potential clash with Germany in the round of 16, who, while currently bottom of Group E, face a final group game against Costa Rica needing a win and for in-form Spain to beat Japan.
Despite Germany’s less-than-impressive start to the tournament, Hansi Flick’s side will be favourites to overcome Morocco.
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Meanwhile, Portugal look set to storm Group H and set up a round of 16 tie with the runner-up of Group G – which looks likely to be Switzerland.
Presuming Portugal wins that quarter-final tie, they could set up a semi-final against England.
Such a tie would be a chance for redemption for England, who suffered two dramatic penalty shoot-out defeats to Portugal in the 2000s.
The Three Lions were beaten 6-5 on penalties in the Euro 2004 quarter-finals after a 2-2 draw.
Portugal then dumped England out of the World Cup at the same stage in 2006, winning 3-1 on penalties after a tense 0-0 draw.
Final
There’s a long route to the final, with plenty of twists and turns still to come.
But if England can overcome Senegal, France and Portugal, they could face tournament favourites Brazil in the final at the Lusail Stadium in Doha.
The game is set to take place on Sunday 18 December at 3pm.
While it is by no means certain that they will face the five-time World Cup winners in the final, Tite’s side looks like strong favourites to be in the mix.
England could face tournament favourites Brazil in the final of this year’s World Cup
At is it currently stands, Brazil will likely face Ghana in the round of 16, followed by a strong Spain side in the quarter-finals.
The semi-finals are, again, a bit trickier to predict, but the Netherlands look the mostly likely to be there with them, but only if they can beat their likely opponents of USA and Denmark in the round of 16 and quarter-finals.
Should Brazil’s impressive firepower, with an attacking line-up containing the likes of Neymar, Vinicius, Raphinha and Richarlison, see them through, a potential final clash with England awaits.
England fans will no doubt remember the heartbreak of the 2002 quarter-final defeat in Japan.
The Three Lions took an early lead through Michael Owen but were pegged back through Rivaldo, before Ronaldinho scored a spectacular long-range free-kick to beat David Seaman and dump England out.
That match was one which saw two golden generations go head-to-head.
And while Brazil will be favourites with their squad of superstars, England’s emerging talents will be no doubt hopeful of pulling off an upset should they face the South American side in the semi-final.
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
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Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
Read more:
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
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