Online Reporter
ENGLAND became the first European qualifiers for the World Cup with their win in Latvia on Tuesday.
The Three Lions join the 27 other sides who have already booked their place, with 20 more places to be decided either next month or in March’s final play-offs.
The final group-stage qualifiers take place during November’s international break.
And as it stands, Euro 2020 nemeses Italy are the toughest team England could be pitted in a group against in North America next summer. That is because the Azzurri have not yet qualified and — barring a spectacular collapse by Norway — will need to go through a play-off, four years on from losing to North Macedonia and missing out on Qatar 2022.
Any team that qualifies via the play-off will automatically be put in Pot 4 for the draw as it takes place before the play-offs are decided.
Currently, the top seeds in Pot 1 will be Argentina, Spain, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Holland, Belgium, Germany plus hosts Canada, Mexico and the USA.
However, a lot can still change with final qualification spots still to be decided and world ranking points on offer — with Croatia and Morocco potentially overtaking Germany, for example. It is the Fifa rankings after the November qualifiers that will determine the pots and seedings for the World Cup draw on December 5 in Washington. — Sun
