England head into next summer's World Cup as one of the favourites, but what reasons do fans have to be hopeful?

Wales boss Steve Tandy is confident his side will grow to be a team that others want to avoid at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

The 1994 World Cup draw in Las Vegas featured performances by Stevie Wonder, Barry Manilow, James Brown and Vanessa Williams plus comedian Robin Williams, who called the draw screen “the world’s largest keno board” and yelled “Bingo!” when Greece was pulled out of a bowl.

For the 2026 World Cup, FIFA will keep the top two ranked teams, Spain and Argentina, as well as the third-and-fourth-ranked teams (France and England) away from each other until the semifinals provided that each team wins their group. Those two pairs of teams will placed into different pathways during the draw.

Ferdinand and Johnson will draw the 12, four-team groups with help from NFL great Tom Brady, hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal, and New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge.

Many considered Group E with Spain, Germany, Japan and Costa Rica the Group of Death in 2022. Japan won the group with two wins and a loss and Spain finished as the runner-up. Germany, a four-time World Cup champion, didn't even reach the knockout round. Both Japan and Spain, however, were eliminated in the Round of 16.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 draw will feature a lineup of former and current star athletes assisting with the event.

Friday's World Cup draw, part-circus, part-ceremony, will blend celebrity-filled spectacle and political theater with the high-stakes reveal of the USMNT's group and tournament path.