England's World Cup defeat to Belgium has avoided potential pre-season clashes for Norwich City supporters.

Qualifying for the knockout stages in second place has sent the Three Lions into a preferable half of the draw for Canaries fans – if they can get past Colombia in the last 16.

Had they won their group England would have been on a path to a quarter-final on Friday, July 6 (7pm), on the same evening that Norwich play King's Lynn Town in their first pre-season friendly.

If they managed to advance to the semi-finals they would be facing a Tuesday, July 10 (7pm) fixture, the same evening that City are due to travel to League Two side Lincoln City for another friendly.

Instead, Gareth Southgate's side are now on course for a potential quarter-final on Saturday, July 7 (3pm) and semi-final on Wednesday, July 11 (7pm), avoiding any Canaries clashes.

Of course, they need to get past Colombia on Tuesday first, who are 16th in the Fifa rankings, with England 12th.