England could face Scotland or Wales at the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 after the draw for the tournament’s finals was made on Friday.
One of Wales, Scotland or Ukraine will go into Group B after the remaining European play-off path is completed.
The World Cup takes place between 21 November and 18 December in Qatar, with Senegal playing the Netherlands in the tournament’s opening game.
England’s first fixture, taking place on the same day, sees them take on Iran. The two sides have never met in a senior men’s competitive international.
The game will take place eight days after the Premier League begins a six-week break.
Reigning champions France are in Group D while Brazil, who returned to number one in the Fifa world rankings on 31 March, are in Group G.
Wales, seeking to reach their first World Cup since 1958, will have to overcome the winners of Scotland and Ukraine in the play-off final in June.
However, that semi-final – which had been scheduled to take place on 24 March at Hampden – was postponed because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
- Group B: England, Iran, USA, Wales/Scotland/Ukraine
- Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
- Group D: France, UAE/Australia/Peru, Denmark, Tunisia
- Group E: Spain, Costa Rica/New Zealand, Germany, Japan
- Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
- Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
- Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
After playing Iran on 21 November, England play the USA on 25 November before finishing their Group B campaign on 29 November against one of Scotland, Wales or Ukraine.
The winner of the remaining European play-off will open their World Cup campaign against the USA on the first day of the tournament.
Should Scotland progress they will play England at a World Cup finals for the first time. The two sides met at last summer’s Euro 2020 tournament with the game ending goalless.
Wales and England have never met at a World Cup finals either. England won 2-1 when the sides met in the group stage at Euro 2016.
“We’ve got to get out of the group,” said England boss Gareth Southgate. “Out first objective is to get out of the group and then we build from there.
Report: BBC Sport
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