FIFA 2022 World Cup draw: The best and worst group scenarios awaiting England in Qatar

England will be in pot one for the draw, meaning they will avoid facing Qatar, Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, Spain and Portugal in the opening three games.

With 13 European sides heading to the middle east, a maximum of two can be in one group while there can be no more than one team from any other confederation in the same group. For example, the United States cannot be drawn against Canada while and Brazil cannot face another South American side.

Having looked through the groups, and the rules of the draw, we looked at the best and worst-case scenarios awaiting England in Friday's draw.

Toughest possible group

Netherlands: Ranked 10th in the FIFA rankings, the Netherlands just missed out on a place in pot one of the draw. They came through top of their qualifying group, winning seven of their 10 games, drawing two and losing the other.

Senegal: The AFCON champions defeated Egypt in their qualifying play-off to advance, and boast a host of top Premier League talent in their squad.

Ecuador: Of the teams England could face from pot four, if drawn against Netherlands and Senegal, Ecuador are one of the toughest. Some of the pot four sides have still to qualify.

Easiest possible group

Switzerland: England haven't lost to the Swiss since 1981 and beat them last week with a 2-1 victory at Wembley.

Tunisia: England met Tunisia at the 2018 World Cup and did need a stoppage-time winner to secure a win. However, the African nation are the lowest-ranked side England could face if they draw Switzerland in pot two.

Saudi Arabia: Ranked 53rd in the FIFA rankings, behind a number of teams who have not qualified for Qatar, England would be expected to pick up maximum points against Saudi Arabia.

Seedings

Pot One: Qatar, Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain, Portugal.

Pot Two: Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Croatia, Uruguay, Mexico, United States.

Pot Three: Senegal, IR Iran, Japan, Morocco, Serbia, Poland, South Korea, Tunisia.

Pot Four: Cameroon, Canada, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Scotland/Ukraine/Wales, Costa Rica/New Zealand, Peru/Australia/UAE.