England
were drawn with Poland in their qualification group for the 2022 World Cup
in Qatar, while Wales will take on the world's top-ranked team Belgium.
England, one of the top seeds, will be pleased with the group they were
handed, with Poland and Hungary the highest ranked of their opponents, while
Wales will also have to get past Czech Republic to qualify for the 2022
showpiece.
Scotland avoided many of the top sides in Europe, with Denmark and Austria
the sides ranked highest of their opponents.
Republic of Ireland's task will be all the more tougher as they will welcome
Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal to Dublin, while Northern Ireland have been
drawn in the same group as Italy and Switzerland.
In total, 55 teams were split into five groups of five and five groups of
six.
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.
World Cup qualification draw in full
Group A: Portugal, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan
Group B: Spain, Sweden, Greece, Georgia, Kosovo
Group C: Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Lithuania
Group D: France, Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kazakhstan
Group E: Belgium, Wales, Czech Republic, Belarus, Estonia
Group F: Denmark, Austria, Scotland, Israel, Faroe Islands, Moldova
Group G: Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, Montenegro, Latvia, Gibraltar
Group H: Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta
Group I: England, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra, San Marino
Group J: Germany, Romania, Iceland, North Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein
When will the qualifiers be played?
The qualifiers will be played between March and November 2021, with
play-offs scheduled for March 2022.
Matchday 1: March 24-25 2021
Matchday 2: March 27-28 2021
Matchday 3: March 30-31 2021
Matchday 4: September 1-2 2021
Matchday 5: September 4-5 2021
Matchday 6: September 7-8 2021
Matchday 7: October 8-9 2021
Matchday 8: October 11-12 2021
Matchday 9: November 11-13 2021
Matchday 10: November 14-16 2021
Play-offs: March 24, 25, 28, 29 2022
England's forgotten 2018 World Cup heroes
Sky Sports News reporter Kaveh Solhekol examines why some of England's 2018
FIFA World Cup heroes have struggled to break into the fold since that
unforgettable campaign in Russia...
How times change. In July 2018 one of the youngest England World Cup squads
returned home from Russia as heroes.
After 52 years of hurt, here was a group of young men who had not been
burdened by carrying the weight of expectation that comes with representing
England in a major tournament.
There had been no scandals and no controversies, the 23 players laughed and
joked together at their training base outside St Petersburg, there were no
egos and no tantrums.
The players lived and worked together in perfect harmony and relations with
the media were so warm that there was even a daily game of darts between
players and journalists.
On the pitch, the players captured the imagination of the fans back home by
playing with freedom and discipline and captain Harry Kane came home with
the Golden Boot.
But what went wrong for the forgotten men of Russia 2018? Who has taken
their place and is there any chance of them getting back in time to play in
Euros next summer or in Qatar 2022?
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