England were handed a straightforward-looking qualifying draw for the 2014 World Cup in Rio on Saturday, with Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, San Marino their Group H opponents.
The group saw Ukraine drawn to face Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland in a group which England ought on paper at least to win to guarantee their passage.
If they slip up then the Three Lions will have to go through the playoffs for one of four remaining berths, assuming they at least finish as one of the best eight runners-up in the nine groups across the Old Continent.
But while the 1966 champions, who will have a new coach in charge after Fabio Capello steps down next year, had little cause to feel hard done by it was a different story for 1998 champions France, drawn in the same group as champions Spain.
Belarus, Georgia and Finland make up Group I.
"It's an extremely difficult group," said Noel Le Graet, the head of the French Football Federation.
"We have time to progress but it's absolutely essential to finish first. We will face Spain and be very competitive. We still have a year and a half to get ready."
Brazil are pre-qualified as hosts, but for hundreds of millions of fans from around the world watching the draw unfold there was tension as they waited on their teams' fate.
Scotland were drawn with a Wales side whose recent slide down the rankings now has them lower in the standings than the Faroe Islands. The pair will face off with Croatia, Serbia, Belgium and Macedonia in Group A.
Scotland and Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam wrote on Twitter: "Tough draw but have a good chance nothing is impossible."
Also in the European zone, 2010 finalists Holland will face Turkey, Hungary, Romania, Estonia and Andorra in Group D.
Four-time champions Italy are in Group B with difficult matches against Denmark and the Czech Republic standing in their way with Bulgaria, Armenia and Malta also in the section.
Three-time winners Germany lead Group C with tricky ties with Sweden and Ireland in prospect while Austria, Faroe Islands and Kazakhstan are also in the pool.
Group E features Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland, Albania, Cyprus and Iceland while Group F sees Portugal, 2018 hosts Russia, Israel, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan and Luxembourg.
Former European champions Greece are in Group G with Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, Latvia and Leichtenstein.
Saturday's preliminary draw for the 20th World Cup was made 91 years to the day since the first final saw Uruguay emerge as champions.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter opened the occasion at Rio's Marina, a stone's throw from the Copacabana beach, by noting that "Brazil holds a special place in the world of football".
"We are happy to be back in Brazil because it is now 61 years since the last World Cup was organised in Brazil. We look forward to an exciting World Cup."
Before the main draw, the fifth-placed team in South American qualifying was drawn to play the fifth-placed team in Asian qualifying for a finals place while the leading nation from Oceania was selected to meet the fourth-ranked country from the North, Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF) zone.
CONCACAF gets three guaranteed places plus one play-off berth, while Oceania's 11 countries are fighting for just a single place via that same play-off.
Africa will have five qualifiers and in the draw West African giants Ghana and Ivory Coast were handed tough tasks.
Ghana, quarter-final losers on penalties to Uruguay in 2010, will face formidable Zambia and Sudan plus minnows Lesotho or Burundi in one of 10 second-round groups.
Ivory Coast, seeking a third consecutive finals appearance, drew the second seed no one wanted -- Morocco -- in a mini-league completed by Gambia and Chad or Tanzania
In Asia, reigning Asian champions Japan and North Korea came out together.
Australia's bid to qualify for a third successive finals begins in Group D, where they will take on Saudi Arabia, Oman and Thailand.
South Korea, who were semi-finalists on home soil in 2002, are in Group B alongside the Middle Eastern trio of Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon.
China are in Group A with Jordan, Iraq and Singapore.
In Group E, Iran, bidding to qualify for a fourth finals, may be favourites, but Bahrain, who lost out to New Zealand in a playoff for the 2010 competition, and 2022 hosts Qatar will be keen to make an impression.
The top two nations from each of the five groups go through before the 10 surviving teams of that stage split into two groups, with the leading two nations in each progressing to the finals.
In all, some 200 countries will have ploughed through 824 qualifiers for the right to claim one of 32 berths - 31 plus the pre-qualified hosts.
South America last hosted the World Cup at Argentina 1978.
Source: AFP
