England’s route to glory at the 2018 World Cup

UK Sport | Published: 29 June 2018 | Last Updated: 29 June 2018 | By Newsdesk

England lost 1-0 to Belgium on Thursday night to finish second in Group G.

Here, Press Association Sport looks at the Three Lions’ potential route to the final, using the world rankings to determine opponents from the quarter-finals onwards.

Radamel Falcao leads the Colombia attack (Frank Augstein/AP)

v Switzerland, quarter-finals

Stoke's Xherdan Shaqiri is one of the best-known Swiss players to England fans — Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri is one of the best-known Swiss players to England fans (Antonio Calanni/AP)

v Spain, semi-finals

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? @Lucasvazquez91 & @isco_alarcon #HagamosQueOcurra #Rusia2018 pic.twitter.com/hmwns5RUF8

— Selección Española de Fútbol (@SeFutbol) June 25, 2018

The 2010 winners at their best can still pass teams off the pitch, but Portugal demonstrated their weaknesses and even Iran had them rattled. The rankings suggest Fernando Hierro’s men could reach this stage by beating Russia and Croatia.