England’s hopes of reaching the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals may rest on an encounter between Samoa and Tonga as Brian McDermott’s side look to keep their chances alive.

An opening defeat to an impressive Tonga put England on the back foot in Australia, with just two teams progressing from a joint table of Pools B and C.

While McDermott’s men rebounded strongly with an 82-0 thrashing of France, a slightly curious format means their last-four fate is entirely out of their hands.

Should Samoa avoid defeat against Tonga in Sydney on Sunday, England will be knocked out – with head-to-head the first tiebreaker in the pool stage table, the best England could be in such a scenario is level on points with Tonga, a team to which they have already lost.

That relies upon England beating Papua New Guinea in Wollongong on Friday, but the margin of victory in their final pool-stage outing could prove important, too.

Should Tonga beat their Pacific Island rivals at the weekend, England would be level on points with Samoa having not played one another during the tournament.

That would mean that the second spot in the merged pool would be decided on points difference. England enter the final round of fixtures 68 points worse off than Samoa, who have beaten France and Papua New Guinea so far at the World Cup.

In 16 previous men’s tournaments, England or Great Britain have never once finished outside the top four places.

"What we have done today is enormous, given the context," McDermott said after the win over France. "Knowing we had to win big - and we have had candid conversations about that this week - we have done that without getting hot. Everything was measured and planned.

"Whatever the results next week, we have to finish strong - if we go home next week, we will be disappointed, but I'm not sure what else we could have done."

The permutations in the four-team Pool A are more straightforward. Australia have already booked their spot as top seed into the second semi-final courtesy of hard-fought wins over New Zealand and Fiji, and the Kiwis will join them provided they beat the Fijians on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

The World Cup final will be held in Brisbane on Saturday 15 November.

Pools B and C table