England have been awarded a place in Pot 1 for the 2022 World Cup draw, eliminating some very dangerous group-stage ties for the Three Lions.
The Fifa world rankings will determine the top seven teams who will join hosts Qatar as the highest seeds for the tournament, with England sat fifth as things stand.
The official line-up will be confirmed on Thursday but no changes significant enough to alter Pot 1 can now take place, effectively finalising the included nations ahead of time.
Top of the world rankings and therefore in Pot 1 are Belgium, who defeated the Three Lions twice at the last World Cup.
A repeat of England’s 2002 World Cup showdowns with Brazil and Argentina will not take place in the group stage, with both South American giants seeded.
Completing the top four of the world rankings are defending champions France. Immediately behind England in sixth are Italy, who nonetheless failed to qualify for Qatar.
Therefore Portugal, ranked eighth in the world, have been elevated to Pot 1 along with Spain. Finally, hosts Qatar are also included as is customary.
On Friday’s draw, Pot 1 will be drawn first with this the second World Cup in a row where all four pots are determined solely by world ranking, as opposed to being geographical.
It is still the case that only two European teams can be drawn against each other in the groups, meaning for example Denmark coming out of Pot 2 will lead to England avoiding Poland and Serbia in Pot 3, plus Wales/Scotland/Ukraine in Pot 4.
In addition, two teams from any other continent cannot be drawn together. For example, if England are drawn against a South American team from Pot 2 and African team from Pot 3, they will have to face an Asian, European or North American team from Pot 4.
