England Learn World Cup Opponents

Last updated : 01 December 2017 By Three Lions

Gareth Southgate should be cautiously optimistic about progress into the knockout stages after Friday's draw at the Kremlin State Palace which paired England with Belgium, Panama and Tunisia.

The tournament begins in earnest for England on Monday, 18 June in Volvograd when they face Tunisia.

Next up are Panama in Nizhny Novogrod on 24 June before the big clash with Belgium on 28 June in Kaliningrad.

"We need to find out more about Tunisia and Panama as we haven't been tracking them," Southgate told BBC Radio 5 live.

"We know everything about Belgium. I think that will capture the imagination back home as they have so many players in our league. They have probably the best group of players they've ever had.

"My experience of tournaments is you need to get a result in all three matches. In the past we've assumed we'll be in certain rounds but we need to make sure we get out of our group."