It has been 60 years since England last lifted the FIFA World Cup trophy – and John Aloisi believes that this year could be the year that it finally “comes home” again.
The 1966 World Cup was the last major tournament that England tasted silverware. They came close to winning the Euros in 2024, but were denied by Spain.
But fans have not lost hope in their team. England supporters are renowned for being among the most passionate in the world, and their World Cup theme tune, ‘It’s Coming Home’ is sung with abandon whenever a major tournament arrives.
And even though Aloisi is a Socceroos great, he hopes to see the team coached by German Thomas Tuchel, finally stand up when it really matters.
“This is England’s time and they could go on and win it,” he told Nine.com.au at Sportsbet’s FIFA World Cup launch.
“People aren’t really putting them down as favourites and normally the media over there in England say ‘they have to win it this time’, but because of the way (Thomas Tuchel) has picked the team, there is more to talk about instead.”
Conversations around the absence of Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Harry Maguire in the England squad dominated headlines when the team was first announced.
What followed was debate around the internal battle around who will be their starting No.10 and when Tuchel’s ‘experimentation’ with what the starting line-up will look like will finally come to an end.
While those questions will be answered in due course, Aloisi is not ready to write off the nation in their pursuit of silverware.
“I think Thomas Tuchel is a pretty astute manager that will make sure that his team is well-organised and that they will be very hard to beat,” Aloisi said.
“You do need a little bit of luck in tournaments, but I think England could go all the way this time.”
England will face Croatia in their first game of the World Cup on June 18 (AEST), with Ghana and Panama to be their other opponents in the group stage.
When is the World Cup?
Football’s biggest tournament kicks off Friday, June 12 at 5am (AEST) with competition occurring over the next five and a half weeks finishing on Monday, July 20.
For Australian audiences, due to the World Cup being held in North America, matches will kick off in the morning, with start times ranging from 2am (AEST) to 2pm (AEST).
How to watch the World Cup in Australia?
Every match of the World Cup will be available on SBS.
Under the new extended trading hours policy for premises, select establishments will also be allowed to open in the early hours of the morning for eager football fans to watch.
This includes pubs, clubs and bars statewide in NSW that broadcast Australian group stage matches, all the knockout rounds (16 and 32) and the finals.
What are the new rules for the World Cup?
Beyond the traditional global football laws, a handful of rule changes have been implemented for this World Cup.
One of the biggest changes is the implementation of three-minute hydration breaks midway through each half in every match, brought in to combat the extreme heat that is expected over the tournament.
Aside from those, players will now have to move faster to restart play, in terms of throw ins or goal kicks. A five-second timer will be set to ensure this happens. Players will also only have 10 seconds to leave the field for a substitution.
Organisers have also confirmed that players who receive medical treatment will be required to stay off the field for one minute, although an exception to that rule is players who are injured during a play that resulted in a yellow or red card.
Only the team captain can speak with match officials to protest a decision, anyone else who does may be shown a yellow or red card.
VAR can, however, be used to review corner kicks or players who receive a second yellow card in the match.
How does the new World Cup fixture work?
This year, with the extended field of teams, 12 groups have been created with four teams each.
Each team will play three games in the group stage, one against every team in its group, as normal. The top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage, as in previous years.
But the difference in 2026 will be an additional round of knockout matches.
Instead of 16 teams advancing to the first knockout round, as has been the case since 1998, there will be 32 making it out of the group stage.
That means not only will all 12 group winners and 12 second-place teams advance, but also the eight best third-place teams.
The specific match ups for the round of 32 will depend on which groups the eight third-place teams emerge from.
After that, there are five knockout stages: the round of 32, the round of 16, quarter finals, semi finals and the final.
Which teams have qualified for the World Cup?
The tournament will comprise 46 teams who will compete across 104 matches.
Co-hosts: Canada, Mexico, USA
Asia: Australia, Iraq, IR Iran, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan
Africa: Algeria, Cabo Verde, Congo DR, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
North and Central America: Curaçao, Haiti, Panama
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
Oceania: New Zealand
Europe: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czechia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye
Which nations are in each group?
Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic
Group B: Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Türkiye
Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia
Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway
Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, Congo DR, Uzbekistan, Colombia
Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama
Who is in the Socceroos squad?
Goalkeepers: Patrick Beach, Mathew Ryan, Paul Izzo
Forwards: Nestory Irankunda, Matthew Leckie, Awer Mabil, Mohamed Toure, Nishan Velupillay, Cristian Volpato, Tete Yengi,
Midfielders: Cameron Devlin, Ajdin Hrustic, Jackson Ivrine, Connor Metcalfe, Aiden O’Neill, Paul Okon-Engstler
Defenders: Aziz Behich, Jordan Bos, Cameron Burgess, Alessandro Circati, Milos Degenek, Jason Geria, Lucas Herrington, Jacob Italiano, Harry Souttar, Kai Trewin
Who is in Australia’s group?
The Socceroos were drawn in Group D, alongside co-hosts United States, Paraguay and Türkiye.
United States (No.16 on the world rankings)
As co-hosts of the 2026 edition of the FIFA men’s world cup, the United States automatically qualified for the tournament.
Paraguay (No.40 on the world rankings)
Paraguay qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by securing the sixth and final automatic qualification berth in the CONMEBOL standings.
Türkiye (No.22 on the world rankings)
Türkiye finished second to Spain in UEFA qualifying, but their head coach Vincenzo Montella successfully guided his team through the European play-offs with narrow victories over Romania and Kosovo.
For reference, Australia is ranked 27th in the FIFA men’s world rankings coming into the 2026 World Cup.
When do the Socceroos play?
Türkiye v Australia – Sunday, June 14, 2:00pm AEST, BC Place, Canada
USA v Australia – Saturday, June 20, 5:00am AEST, Seattle Stadium, USA
Paraguay v Australia – Friday, 26 June, 12:00pm AEST, San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, USA
How did Australian qualify?
In case you missed it, Australia secured direct qualification through a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia at the Asian Football Confederation qualifying round, the first time the Socceroos have accomplished direct qualification since 2014. They qualified in 2018 and 2022 via sudden death playoffs.
When and where is the World Cup final?
The World Cup final will be played on Monday, July 20 at 5:00am (AEST).
The decider will take place at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, known as the New York New Jersey Stadium for FIFA sponsorship purposes.
The final will also host a Super Bowl-esque half-time show featuring Madonna, Shakira and K-Pop band BTS.
Who is the favourite to win the 2026 World Cup?
Spain are the outright favourites, at $5.50 odds with TAB. France are narrowly behind, currently quoted as $6 to win with TAB (odds correct at time of publishing).
Who are the previous winners of the World Cup?
2022: Argentina
2018: France
2014: Germany
2010: Spain
2006: Italy
2002: Brazil
1998: France
1994: Brazil
1990: Germany
1986: Argentina
1982: Italy
1978: Argentina
1974: Germany
1970: Brazil
1966: England
1962: Brazil
1958: Brazil
1954: Germany
1950: Uruguay
1938: Italy
1934: Italy
1930: Uruguay
Where is the next World Cup being held?
Following the 2026 edition, the next FIFA World Cup is expected to take place in June and July 2030. A trio of nations – Morocco, Portugal, and Spain – will host the 2030 World Cup with games divided between the countries.
There will also be special centenary games to celebrate 100 World Cups since 1930 in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
