The pots for Friday's World Cup group-stage draw have been revealed by FIFA in Brazil.
England are placed in Pot 4 along with the eight other European teams who are not ranked as high as Belgium, Germany, Spain and Switzerland, who themselves are in Pot 1 with Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and hosts Brazil.
Pot 2 contains just seven teams. The African nations of Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria are joined by the two lowest-ranked South American sides in Ecuador and Chile.
Pot 3 comprises the eight sides who qualified from the CONCACAF and Asian regions - Australia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Mexico and the USA.
Although there are nine teams in Pot 4, this will be reduced to eight when a pre-draw moves one of the sides into Pot 2.
That European team will then be drawn against one of the four South American sides from Pot 1 to ensure that no three European countries are in the same group.
No South American sides will be able to draw each other, so the other three in Pot 1 who are not drawn against the European team moved to Pot 2 will definitely draw an African nation out of Pot 2.
Pot 1: Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, Colombia, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Uruguay
Pot 2: Algeria, Cameroon, Chile, Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Ghana, Nigeria
Pot 3: Australia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, USA
Pot 4: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, England, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia
Pascal Lemesre
