England and Spain not in Pot One for World Cup draw
Monday 16 October 2017 14:26, UK
England and Spain will not be in Pot One when the draw is made for next summer's World Cup in Russia.
As a result of the latest FIFA ranking, Pot One for the Russia 2018 draw on December 1 has been decided.
Russia (hosts), Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland and France make up the top-seeded teams.
Spain, who moved up from 11th to eighth in the new rankings, miss out on the top group due to the presence of Russia who, as hosts, qualify automatically.
England also moved up in the latest rankings from 15th to 12th, but will probably end up in Pot Two.
Despite failing to qualify for the tournament, Scotland have shot 14 places up the rankings from 43rd to 29th.
Wales slipped one place to 14th after they failed to qualify, Northern Ireland also dropped down the rankings, three places to 23rd, but the Republic of Ireland are up eight places to 26th.
However, neither Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland will be seeded for tomorrow's play-off draw.
Peru are the big winners. They've moved into the top 10 for the first time after qualifying for an Intercontinental play-off against New Zealand.
The shake-up has left UEFA with 28 teams in the top 50, up one on last month, a rise that comes at the expense of the South American confederation, which drops down to eight teams.
