England have ensured a high seeding for next summer’s Euro 2024.
Gareth Southgate’s side topped qualifying Group C unbeaten, securing a tally of 20 points to finish as one of the five best group winners.
That ensured that they are in Pot 1 for the draw alongside Germany, Portugal, France, Spain and Belgium.
It means that the Euro 2020 runners-up will not face any of those five sides in the group stages.
That makes England’s path to knock-out stage qualification easier, though there are still plenty of strong sides in the other three pots.
With three play-off qualifiers still to be confirmed, the pots look like this:
Pot 1: Germany (hosts), Portugal, France, Spain, Belgium, England
Pot 2: Hungary, Turkey, Romania, Denmark, Albania, Austria
Pot 3: Netherlands, Scotland, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic
Pot 4: Italy, Serbia, Switzerland, Play-off winner A, Play-off winner B, Play-off winner C
So what is the toughest possible draw for England?
While the pots are based on qualifying form, and thus a useful gauge of team quality, we will go by Fifa’s world rankings to determine the best and worst case scenarios for Southgate and his side.
England topped their qualifying group— (Action Images via Reuters)
The toughest possible draw for England (current world ranking 3rd) would be: Denmark (19th), Netherlands (6th), Italy (9th).
The simplest draw, meanwhile, would comprise of: Albania (62nd), Slovenia (54th), Kazakhstan* (100th).
*Kazakhstan are part of qualifying play-off Path C
When is Euro 2024?
The 17th edition of the men’s Euros will be held in Germany between 14 June and 14 July.
Which cities are hosting fixtures?
Berlin
Munich
Hamburg
Dusseldorf
Frankfurt
Cologne
Stuttgart
Gelsenkirchen
Leipzig
Dortmund
