Greece will face Cyprus, Belgium,
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Estonia in Group H , for the 2018 World Cup in Russia after they were paired together at a lavish draw ceremony in Saint Petersburg on Saturday.
England have been drawn with Scotland. The two auld enemies will also play Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania and Malta
World champions
Germany have been drawn alongside Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway,
Azerbaijan and San Marino.
Arguably the
toughest group sees 1998 champions France alongside three-time World Cup
runners-up the Netherlands and a Sweden side captained by Paris Saint-Germain
star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
There is
also a meeting of two former winners in Group G with Spain and Italy paired
with Albania, Israel, Fyrom and Liechtenstein.
Group D sees
another local clash as top seeds Wales meet the Republic of Ireland as well as
Austria, Serbia, Moldova and Georgia.
The winners
of all nine European groups will qualify automatically for the World Cup with
the eight best runners-up facing off in two-legged play-offs for the remaining
four spots.
Copa America
champions Chile will entertain Brazil in their opening qualifier with the most
keenly anticipated South American encounters between Argentina and Brazil on
match-days three and 11.
The United
States will have to finish 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 on Saturday with
the 20 victors from round two progressing to a final group stage where the five
group winners will qualify for the World Cup.
The standout
tie from the second round sees four-time finalists Morocco take on African
Nations Cup semi-finalists Equatorial Guinea.
Meanwhile,
there was a blow for Oceania favourites New Zealand as they will have to beat
the fifth-best side in South America if they come through regional qualifying
in the inter-continental play-offs.
In the other
inter-continental tie the fourth-placed side in the North and Central American
confederation face the fifth-best side from the Asian qualifying stage.
EUROPE
Group A: Netherlands, France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg
Group B: Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra
Group C: Germany, Czech Republic, Northern Irland , 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, Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta
Group G: Spain, Italy, Albania, Israel, FYROM , Liechtenstein
Group H: Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus
Group I: Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland
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