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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.