The final draw for the next year’s Fifa World Cup has finished, with England drawn in Group G alongside Belgium, Tunisia and Panama.
Gareth Southgate’s team will begin their tournament against Tunisia on Monday, 18 June (19:00 BST) in Volgograd, and will then then play Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on 24 June (13:00 BST) before facing the group’s top seeds Belgium on 28 June in Kaliningrad (19:00 BST).
Elsewhere, hosts Russia will take on Saudi Arabia in the opening game of the tournament in Moscow on 14 June (16:00 BST), while holders Germany have been drawn in Group F alongside Mexico, Sweden and South Korea, and are now the bookies’ favourite to lift the cup.
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Five-time champions Brazil are in Group E alongside Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia, and arguably the game of the round will see 2010 champions Spain play their closest neighbours, last year’s European Championship winners Portugal, in Group B. They will be joined by Morocco and Iran.
England’s draw was met with cautious optimism from pundits and fans alike. “Given England could have been drawn in the same group as France, Argentina, Brazil or Germany, Southgate and his players will be relatively pleased,” the Guardian writes.
The BBC points out that England are currently on an 11-game unbeaten run in meetings with Belgium, and they last lost to them in 1936, England’s only defeat in 23 games between the two sides.
Tunisia have played England twice before, drawing a friendly in 1990 before losing to the Three Lions in their opening game of the 1998 World Cup in France.
England have never played Panama before, but they are one of the lowest-ranked teams in the tournament. However, England fans are all too aware that the Three Lions are never ones to make things easy for themselves:
Further problems await England if they progress from the group. The draw could - in a worst-case scenario - see them face Colombia, Brazil, France and then Germany on their path to the final.
Here’s a look at the final draw:
Group A: Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
Group B: Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran
Group C: France, Australia, Peru, Denmark
Group D: Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria
Group E: Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
Group F: Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea
Group G: Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England
Group H: Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan
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