England will face old enemy Scotland in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia after they were paired together in Group F at a lavish draw ceremony in St. Petersburg on Saturday. The United States will have to finish in the top two of a group also including Trinidad and Tobago to make it to the final round of CONCACAF qualifying. The first two rounds for the African stage of qualifying were also drawn, with the 20 winners from round two progressing to a final group stage where the five group winners will qualify for the World Cup. Meanwhile, there was a blow for Oceania favourite New Zealand as it will have to beat the fifth-best side in South America if it comes through regional qualifying in the inter-continental playoffs. In the other inter-continental tie, the fourth-placed side in CONCACAF faces the fifth-best side from the Asian qualifying stage. Qualifying has already started in Asia.
EUROPE (group winners qualify directly for finals, eight best runners-up contest two-legged play-offs): Group A: The Netherlands, France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg; Group B: Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra; Group C: Germany, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway, Azerbaijan, San Marino; Group D: Wales, Austria, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Moldova, Georgia; Group E: Romania, Denmark, Poland, Montenegro, Armenia, Kazakhstan; Group F: England, Slovakia, Scotland, Malta, Lithuania, Slovenia; Group G: Spain, Italy, Albania, Israel, Macedonia, Liechtenstein; Group H: Belgium, Bosnia, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus; Group I: Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland.
SOUTH AMERICA (Top four teams go straight to the finals, fifth-placed team goes into playoff): Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay.
OCEANIA: First round (American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga contest a group stage with winner progressing to second round):Group A: Winner of first round, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Tahiti; Group B: New Zealand, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands.
Top three from each group progress to third round and drawn into two groups of three. The top two in each group then play each other in two-legged ties, with the winner then involved in a play-off with an opponent from another continent. The winner of that qualifies for the finals .
AFRICA (five teams qualify for finals):First round: Two-legged ties [Somalia vs Niger, South Sudan vs Mauritania, Gambia vs Namibia, Sao Tome e Principe vs Ethiopia, Chad vs Sierra Leone, Comoros vs Lesotho, Dijibouti vs Swaziland, Eritrea vs Botswana, Seychelles vs Burundi, Liberia vs Guinea-Bissau, Central African Republic vs Madagascar, Mauritius vs Kenya, Tanzania vs Malawi.
Round two: Two-legged ties [Somalia/Niger vs Cameroon, South Sudan/Mauritania vs Tunisia, Gambia/Namibia vs Guinea, Sao Tome e Principe/Ethiopia vs Congo, Chad/Sierra Leone vs Egypt, Comoros/Lesotho vs Ghana, Djibouti/Swaziland vs Nigeria, Eritrea/Botswana vs Mali, Seychelles/Burundi vs Congo DR, Liberia/Guinea-Bissau vs Ivory Coast, Central African Republic/Madagascar vs Senegal, Mauritius/Kenya vs Cape Verde, Tanzania/Malawi vs Algeria, Sudan vs Zambia, Libya vs Rwanda, Morocco vs Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique vs Gabon, Benin vs Burkina Faso, Togo vs Uganda, Angola vs South Africa.
The 20 winners from the second round will go into a third round comprising five groups of four. The winners of each group qualify for the World Cup .
CONCACAF: Third round: Two-legged ties [Curacao vs El Salvador, Canada vs Belize, Grenada vs Haiti, Jamaica vs Nicaragua, St. Vincent & Grenadines vs Aruba, Antigua & Barbuda vs Guatemala.
Group A: Honduras, Mexico, Curacao/El Salvador, Canada/Belize; Group B: Panama, Costa Rica, Grenada/Haiti, Jamaica/Nicaragua; Group C: Trinidad & Tobago, USA, St. Vincent & Grenadines/Aruba, Antigua & Barbuda/Guatemala.
The top two teams from each group will play in a six-team mini-league. The top three qualify and the fourth goes into an inter-continental play-off .
