England will find out their opponents in the 2022 World Cup group stage later this week, with the draw being held on Friday at 5pm BST.
The World Cup will be held in Qatar with the tournament kicking off on Monday, November 21, before the final is played a week before Christmas on Sunday, December 18. This is the first time the tournament will not be held in May, June or July due to the Middle East's intense summer heat.
Gareth Southgate's side suffered heartbreak in the European Championships final last summer after losing on penalties to Italy at Wembley. The Three Lions will be hoping to go one step further this winter and lift the World Cup for the first time since 1966.
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There are still a number of play-off games to complete with Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo set to face North Macedonia after the latter beat European champions Italy 1-0 with 92nd-minute winner in Palermo. Poland face Sweden, whilst Wales will face Scotland or Ukraine in the final World Cup playoff.
The pots for the World Cup draw still need to be finalised, with teams possibly moving around following the completion of this week's friendly and World Cup qualifying fixtures. England will likely fall into pot 1 with the likes of France, Spain, Belgium, Argentina, Brazil and Qatar.
Teams in the same pot as each other will be unable to face one another in the group stage, meaning the Three Lions will avoid the above teams until the knockout rounds begin. This does not mean England will have an easy draw, with Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia, USA, Mexico and Uruguay all set to feature in pot 2 as things stand.
AFCON champions Senegal and finalists Egypt could both feature in pot 3, along with Serbia, Japan, Nigeria, Morocco, Iran and South Korea. In pot 4, England can expect to draw teams such as Canada, Algeria and Costa Rica.
The worst case scenario for the Three Lions would be if they were drawn to play old foes Germany, AFCON winners Senegal and potentially Wales or Scotland from pot 4, whilst there is also the chance of favourable draw against the likes of USA, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Fans will find out England's fate for the World Cup group stage on Friday evening.
