England confirmed for World Cup qualifying draw

LONDON: England could be drawn in a World Cup qualifying group with Wales and one of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland or Scotland next month.

The seedings for the European section of qualification for Qatar 2022 were confirmed on Friday morning, and left open the possibility of some old rivalries being renewed.

Gareth Southgate’s team are in the top pot of seeds, alongside the world’s number one-ranked team Belgium and reigning world champions France.

Wales are in pot two, where other dangerous potential opponents for the Three Lions include Poland, led by star Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski.

Northern Ireland, the Republic and Scotland are all in the third pot.

In total, 55 teams will be split into five groups of five and five groups of six when the draw takes place on December 7.

The qualifiers will be played between March and November next year.

The winners of the 10 groups will qualify automatically for the finals, which for the first time will be played in November and December of 2022 to avoid the punishing summer heat in the Middle East.

A further three places will be fought out between the 10 group runners-up and the two highest-ranked teams from the Nations League who have not already qualified or finished in a runners-up spot.

These 12 teams will be divided into three play-off paths, each featuring four countries, to determine the final three European berths.