The history behind the FIFA World Cup 2026

England men will kickstart their 17th FIFA World Cup campaign when they take on Croatia in Dallas next week, with Thomas Tuchel’s side aiming to end their long wait for a second world title since their famous triumph in 1966.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be the 23rd edition of the tournament and the largest in its history, featuring 48 teams competing across three host nations for the first time - the United States, Canada and Mexico, with the latter hosting the tournament for a record third time.

That expansion brings new stories, as four nations prepare to make their World Cup debuts in Cabo Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan. Should England top Group L and one of the four debutants finish as one of the best-placed third teams in their respective groups, it could set up a first-ever meeting with the Three Lions.

Should England go all the way, they can be expected to win their group because in every single edition of the World Cup since 1986 - which is the last 10 tournaments since the round of 16 was introduced - those sides which eventually lifted the trophy won their group. England will play Croatia, Ghana and Panama in a bid to reach the knockouts.

England were one of the 20 of the previous 22 hosts to reach the second round, as only South Africa in 2010 and Qatar in 2022 failed to do so. The hosts have not won the tournament since France in 1998.

Croatia, grouped with England in Group L, are the only side in the last 20 years to reach the final and fail to take the game to extra time, after they knocked England out in the semi-finals in 2018. The finals in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022 all required an extra 30 minutes, while three of those were decided on penalties.

There have been 35 penalty shoot-outs in total at the World Cup, and before the 2018 World Cup in Russia, England had lost all three of their shoot-outs. However, victory over Colombia in the round of 16 ensured that Spain hold the lowest shoot-out success rate of 20% (1/5).

Harry Kane may have filled his boots for Bayern Munich this season with 61 goals, but the skipper will have a job on his hands if he is to help the Three Lions beat Hungary’s record of 27 goals in just five games. That is the highest total scored in a single tournament, set in 1954, but two teams will play eight matches this summer under the new 48-team format.

2018 Golden Boot winner Kane may still be waiting for his first World Cup hat-trick, but one Englishman is instilled in the record books for scoring three goals in one game. Only England’s Geoff Hurst (1966) and Kylian Mbappe (2022) have netted a hat-trick in the World Cup final.