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Who could England face at the World Cup in Russia?

People watch as the facade of Moscow's historic Bolshoi Theatre is illuminated with the official emblem of the 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia
Image: The draw for next summer's World Cup in Russia will take place in Moscow on December 1

With the World Cup qualification picture now complete, we look at who England could face in the group stages at Russia 2018.

England and Spain will be in pot 2 for the draw, which takes place on Friday, December 1 in Moscow, with Russia (hosts), Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland and France making up the top-seeded teams in pot 1.

Here's all you need to know about the draw process, and who England could face next summer.

When and where is it?

The draw for the group stages of the 2018 World Cup will be held on Friday, December 1 in Moscow.

It will take place at the State Kremlin Palace inside the Moscow Kremlin and you will be able to follow the draw live on Sky Sports digital platforms.

Russia World Cup venues
Image: Russia World Cup venues for next summer's tournament

The pots

The 32 teams will be allocated to four pots based on FIFA world rankings from October 2017.

Pot 1 will contain the hosts Russia and the best seven teams, Pot 2 will contain the next best eight teams, and so on for Pots 3 and 4.

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This is different from previous draws, where only Pot 1 was based on FIFA rankings while the remaining pots were based on geographical considerations.

However, similar to previous editions, teams from the same confederation will not be drawn against each other for the group stage, except for UEFA, where each group can contain up to two teams.

With all the entrants now decided, here are the finalised pots...

Possible World Cup pots (Qualified teams in bold, world ranking in brackets)

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
Russia (65) Spain (8) Denmark (19) Serbia (38)
Germany (1) Peru (10) Iceland (21) Nigeria (41)
Brazil (2) Switzerland (11) Costa Rica (22) Australia (43)
Portugal (3) England (12) Sweden (25) Japan (44)
Argentina (4) Colombia (13) Tunisia (28) Morocco (48)
Belgium (5) Mexico (16) Egypt (30) Panama (49)
Poland (6) Uruguay (17) Senegal (32) South Korea (62)
France (7) Croatia (18) Iran (34) Saudi Arabia (63)

Pot permutations

Pot 1: Russia, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland, France

Pot 2: Spain, Peru, Switzerland, England, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Croatia

Pot 3: Denmark, Iceland, Costa Rica, Sweden, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Iran

Pot 4: Serbia, Nigeria, Australia, Japan, Morocco, Panama, South Korea, Saudi Arabia

Who could England draw?

To state the obvious, England cannot draw the likes of Spain or Uruguay due to them being in the same pot. With no more than two UEFA teams allowed in a group, if England are to draw either Germany, Portugal, Russia, Belgium, Poland or France from pot 1, they will avoid Iceland, Sweden, Denmark and Serbia in pot 3.

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 15:  Isco of Spain (22) celebrates with team mates as he scores their second and equalising goal during the international friend
Image: England will avoid meeting the likes of Spain and Uruguay in the group stage of the World Cup

Based solely on world rankings, England's worst scenario would be a group with Germany, Costa Rica and Nigeria, while their best would be a group with Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

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