England World Cup news: Three Lions route to the final revealed

England's potential route to the World Cup final has become clear after Saturday's 2-0 victory over Panama.

After a forgettable opening 45 minutes in New Jersey, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane got on the scoresheet in the second half to seal the Three Lions' place in the last 32.

When the full-time whistle went at the MetLife Stadium, Thomas Tuchel and his squad did not know their opponents for Wednesday's fixture in Atlanta.

However, DR Congo's 3-1 win over Uzbekistan several hours later locked in a showdown with the African nation.

While England's performances at the World Cup suggest that an appearance in the final is unlikely, they now know their potential route to the July 19 showpiece.

© Iconsport / SPI

What is England's potential route through to the World Cup final?

Before any excitement goes into overdrive, England must deal with the challenge of DR Congo on July 1.

Should England progress through a fixture against opponents who have already held Portugal to a draw in the competition, things would get very tricky for Tuchel and his squad.

Mexico or Ecuador would await in the last 16 on Monday, July 6 at 1am (UK time). Not only do these nations have their own hopes of going deep in the competition, the game would be played in Mexico City, which is over 2,000 metres above sea level.

Naturally, Mexico's players are used to those conditions, but so are Ecuador's, with capital city Quito even higher in altitude than Mexico City.

© Imago / ImagenShop

Should England progress to the quarter-finals on July 11, Brazil are the likely opponents, but this part of the draw also features Japan, Ivory Coast and Norway.

With the game being played in the often-humid city of Miami, England would ideally not like to face Brazil, who have already cruised past Scotland at the same venue.

Tuchel will certainly not be looking as far as the semi-finals at this stage, but defending champions Argentina are the clear favourites to be their last-four opponents on July 15 should they get there.

The likes of Egypt, Switzerland, Colombia and Ghana will have dreams of capitalising on what is the weakest quarter of the draw.

Meanwhile, the final on July 19 could would realistically see England face one of France, Spain, Germany, Portugal or Netherlands.

When do the World Cup knockout stages start?

Despite the group phase only finishing on Saturday night, South Africa and Canada kick off the last-32 ties as soon as Sunday at 8pm (UK time).