2018 WORLD CUP FINALS DRAW
| GROUP A | GROUP B | GROUP C | GROUP D |
| RUSSIA | PORTUGAL | FRANCE | ARGENTINA |
| SAUDI ARABIA | SPAIN | AUSTRALIA | ICELAND |
| EGYPT | MOROCCO | PERU | CROATIA |
| URUGUAY | IRAN | DENMARK | NIGERIA |
| GROUP E | GROUP F | GROUP G | GROUP H |
| BRAZIL | GERMANY | BELGIUM | POLAND |
| SWITZERLAND | MEXICO | PANAMA | SENEGAL |
| COSTA RICA | SWEDEN | TUNISIA | COLOMBIA |
| SERBIA | SOUTH KOREA | ENGLAND | JAPAN |
ENGLAND have been drawn against Tunisia, Panama and Belgium in Group G at next year's World Cup finals in Russia.
The Three Lions will begin their tournament against the Tunisians on Monday 18th June at 7pm in a repeat of their opening fixture at the 1998 World Cup which they won 2-0.
Head coach Gareth Southgate was on the pitch in Marseille that day - and he will be looking for a similar result when he takes his place on the touchline in Volgograd.
Thereafter, England face tournament debutants Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on 24th June at 1pm, before finishing the group stage against top seeds Belgium on 28th June in Kaliningrad.
Currently ranked fifth, the Red Devils undoubtedly have a hugely talented side with the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne all among the best players in the Premier League.
Their head coach - former Wigan Athletic and Everton boss Roberto Martinez - is a familiar face too.
However, having been second seeds, England were always going to face at least one high quality opponent - and thankfully the rest of the draw has been pretty kind.
Even Group H - which features Poland, Senegal, Colombia and Japan as possible Last 16 opponents - could have been far more frightening.
But Southgate urged caution at the draw which was hosted by Three Lions legend Gary Lineker at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
"My experience of tournaments is you need to get a result in all three matches," Southgate said. "In the past we've assumed we'll be in certain rounds but we need to make sure we get out of our group."
Hosts Russia were perhaps given the weakest group, in terms of the rankings, which they could mathematically have drawn.
Stanislav Cherchesov's men open the whole tournament against Saudi Arabia on Thursday 14th June before going on to face Egypt - who are appearing in their first World Cup since 1990 - and then an ageing Uruguay side.
France, similarly, can have no complaints at having been placed in Group C alongside Denmark, Australia, and Peru - who will be making their first appearance since 1982.
Group B, however, appears to be a different matter altogether. European Champions Portugal, ranked third, will begin their campaign in an Iberian derby against 2010 champions Spain in Sochi on Friday 15th June.
Meanwhile, Iran and Morocco are the other teams in the section, both having qualified convincingly from the Asian and African sections respectively.
Elsewhere, defending champions Germany will surely be given a stern workout by their opponents Mexico, Sweden, and South Korea.
The Swedes, in particular, will be ones to watch considering they have already accounted for the Netherlands and Italy in the qualifying stages.
Of course, if the Nationalmannschaft happen to slip into second, they could be reacquainted with Brazil who they beat 7-1 in Belo Horizonte in the semi finals of the last World Cup.
Brazil, after all, have somewhat recovered from that mauling, and so would expect to leave their group opponents - Switzerland, Costa Rica, and Serbia - fighting it out for just the one other spot in the Last 16.
Not that long-time German head coach Joachim Loew seemed particularly worried.
"At such a draw everything is possible. Whatever the group, we have to advance. I was generally relaxed. There is no reason for us to be nervous," he said.
There is, however, understandable concern in Argentina. A mess of a qualifying campaign was only saved on the final day by a Lionel Messi hat-trick - and their first opponents, debutants Iceland, know a little bit about bloodying a nose or two.
Croatia could also prove tricky - and then there is Nigeria, a familiar World Cup foe.
Remarkably, the fixture on 26th June means the Super Eagles will have met La Albiceleste on five of their six finals appearances.
For now, the Argentines have a perfect record in World Cup matches between the pair - but they were beaten 4-2 in a recent international following a second half capitulation.
Vulnerability undoubtedly hangs in the air in Buenos Aires currently - and, in fairness, it never feels far away from the Three Lions either.
After all, we have been here before - and relatively recently at that.
In 2010, The Sun newspaper reacted to the news that England would face Algeria, Slovenia and United States by printing EASY in big letters on its front page.
England did make it through the group - but only in second place behind the Americans, and they were then thumped 4-1 by Germany in the Last 16.
Thankfully, though, there was equally no repeat of the cut-throat gesture given by former Football Association chairman Greg Dyke at the 2014 draw when England were grouped with Italy, Uruguay, and Costa Rica.
For, if England are to get anywhere, they simply must have more self-belief than that.
And, while they certainly cannot be considered among the favourites for the World Cup itself, the draw has presented Southgate's men with a genuine chance of a decent showing in Russia next summer.
Now, where did I put that bunting?
GROUP A RUSSIA - SAUDI ARABIA - EGYPT - URUGUAY
| Time | Date | Venue | |
| 4pm | Thu 14 June | RUSSIA v SAUDI ARABIA | Moscow |
| 1pm | Fri 15 June | EGYPT v URUGUAY | Yekaterinburg |
| 7pm | Tue 19 June | RUSSIA v EGYPT | Saint Petersburg |
| 4pm | Wed 20 June | URUGUAY v SAUDI ARABIA | Rostov-on-Don |
| 3pm | Mon 25 June | URUGUAY v RUSSIA | Samara |
| 3pm | Mon 25 June | SAUDI ARABIA v EGYPT | Volgograd |
GROUP B PORTUGAL - SPAIN - MOROCCO - IRAN
| Time | Date | Venue | |
| 4pm | Fri 15 June | MOROCCO v IRAN | Saint Petersburg |
| 7pm | Fri 15 June | PORTUGAL v SPAIN | Sochi |
| 1pm | Wed 20 June | PORTUGAL v MOROCCO | Moscow |
| 7pm | Wed 20 June | IRAN v SPAIN | Kazan |
| 7pm | Mon 25 June | IRAN v PORTUGAL | Saransk |
| 7pm | Mon 25 June | SPAIN v MOROCCO | Kaliningrad |
GROUP C FRANCE - AUSTRALIA - PERU - DENMARK
| Time | Date | Venue | |
| 11am | Sat 16 June | FRANCE v AUSTRALIA | Kazan |
| 5pm | Sat 16 June | PERU v DENMARK | Saransk |
| 1pm | Thu 21 June | FRANCE v PERU | Yekaterinburg |
| 4pm | Thu 21 June | DENMARK v AUSTRALIA | Samara |
| 3pm | Tue 26 June | DENMARK v FRANCE | Moscow |
| 3pm | Tue 26 June | AUSTRALIA v PERU | Sochi |
GROUP D ARGENTINA - ICELAND - CROATIA - NIGERIA
| Time | Date | Venue | |
| 2pm | Sat 16 June | ARGENTINA v ICELAND | Moscow |
| 8pm | Sat 16 June | CROATIA v NIGERIA | Kaliningrad |
| 7pm | Thu 21 June | ARGENTINA v CROATIA | Nizhny Novgorod |
| 4pm | Fri 22 June | NIGERIA v ICELAND | Volgograd |
| 7pm | Tue 26 June | NIGERIA v ARGENTINA | Saint Petersburg |
| 7pm | Tue 26 June | ICELAND v CROATIA | Rostov-on-Don |
GROUP E BRAZIL - SWITZERLAND - COSTA RICA - SERBIA
| Time | Date | Venue | |
| 1pm | Sun 17 June | COSTA RICA v SERBIA | Samara |
| 7pm | Sun 17 June | BRAZIL v SWITZERLAND | Rostov-on-Don |
| 1pm | Fri 22 June | BRAZIL v COSTA RICA | Saint Petersburg |
| 7pm | Fri 22 June | SERBIA v SWITZERLAND | Kaliningrad |
| 7pm | Wed 27 June | SERBIA v BRAZIL | Moscow |
| 7pm | Wed 27 June | SWITZERLAND v COSTA RICA | Nizhny Novgorod |
GROUP F GERMANY - MEXICO - SWEDEN - SOUTH KOREA
| Time | Date | Venue | |
| 4pm | Sun 17 June | GERMANY v MEXICO | Moscow |
| 1pm | Mon 18 June | SWEDEN v SOUTH KOREA | Nizhny Novgorod |
| 4pm | Sat 23 June | GERMANY v SWEDEN | Sochi |
| 7pm | Sat 23 June | SOUTH KOREA v MEXICO | Rostov-on-Don |
| 3pm | Wed 27 June | SOUTH KOREA v GERMANY | Kazan |
| 3pm | Wed 27 June | MEXICO v SWEDEN | Yekaterinburg |
GROUP G BELGIUM - PANAMA - TUNISIA - ENGLAND
| Time | Date | Venue | |
| 4pm | Mon 18 June | BELGIUM v PANAMA | Sochi |
| 7pm | Mon 18 June | TUNISIA v ENGLAND | Volgograd |
| 1pm | Sat 23 June | BELGIUM v TUNISIA | Moscow |
| 1pm | Sun 24 June | ENGLAND v PANAMA | Nizhny Novgorod |
| 7pm | Thu 28 June | ENGLAND v BELGIUM | Kaliningrad |
| 7pm | Thu 28 June | PANAMA v TUNISIA | Saransk |
GROUP H POLAND - SENEGAL - COLOMBIA - JAPAN
| Time | Date | Venue | |
| 1pm | Tue 19 June | POLAND v SENEGAL | Moscow |
| 4pm | Tue 19 June | COLOMBIA v JAPAN | Saransk |
| 4pm | Sun 24 June | JAPAN v SENEGAL | Yekaterinburg |
| 7pm | Sun 24 June | POLAND v COLOMBIA | Kazan |
| 3pm | Thu 28 June | JAPAN v POLAND | Volgograd |
| 3pm | Thu 28 June | SENEGAL v COLOMBIA | Samara |
SECOND ROUND
| Time | Date | Venue | |
| 3pm | Sat 30 June | (1) WINNER C v RUNNER-UP D | Kazan |
| 7pm | Sat 30 June | (2) WINNER A v RUNNER-UP B | Sochi |
| 3pm | Sun 01 July | (3) WINNER B v RUNNER-UP A | Moscow |
| 7pm | Sun 01 July | (4) WINNER D v RUNNER-UP C | Nizhny Novgorod |
| 3pm | Mon 02 July | (5) WINNER E v RUNNER-UP F | Samara |
| 7pm | Mon 02 July | (6) WINNER G v RUNNER-UP H | Rostov-on-Don |
| 3pm | Tue 03 July | (7) WINNER F v RUNNER-UP E | Saint Petersburg |
| 7pm | Tue 03 July | (8) WINNER H v RUNNER-UP G | Moscow |
QUARTER FINALS
| Time | Date | Venue | |
| 3pm | Fri 06 July | WINNER (1) v WINNER (2) | Nizhny Novgorod |
| 7pm | Fri 06 July | WINNER (5) v WINNER (6) | Kazan |
| 3pm | Sat 07 July | WINNER (7) v WINNER (8) | Samara |
| 7pm | Sat 07 July | WINNER (3) v WINNER (4) | Sochi |
SEMI FINALS
| Time | Date | Venue | |
| 7pm | Tue 10 July | WINNER QF1 v WINNER QF2 | Saint Petersburg |
| 7pm | Wed 11 July | WINNER QF3 v WINNER QF4 | Moscow |
THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF
| Time | Date | Venue | |
| 3pm | Sat 14 July | LOSER SF1 v LOSER SF2 | Saint Petersburg |
WORLD CUP FINAL
| Time | Date | Venue | |
| 4pm | Sun 15 July | WINNER SF1 v WINNER SF2 | Moscow |
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