GARETH Southgate could be handed another clash with Croatia in tomorrow’s draw for the second version of the Nations League.
England boss Southgate will fly to Amsterdam and face questions over the fitness of Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford as well as the form of Jordan Pickford.
Gareth Southgate’s England could take on France, Denmark and Germany in a nightmare Nations League group
But the Three Lions chief will also discover the teams his side must face in the opening six games of next season.
And that could include yet another pair of clashes with Croatia.
England were knocked out of the World Cup in 2018 by Zlatko Dalic’s side but got some revenge with their Nations League success – and the teams face off again at Wembley in Group D of Euro 2020 this summer.
Kane’s winner at Wembley sent England into last year’s Nations League finals in Portugal and doomed the Croats to third place, but Uefa subsequently expanded the competition format.
That meant a reprieve for the third-place finishers, including Croatia and Germany as the top division will now consist of 16 teams split into four groups of four.
England join Switzerland, Holland and Portugal in the top pot, with only the group winners progressing to the finals tournament in 2021.
The worst-case scenario could see Southgate’s team meeting world champions France, Croatia or Germany and Denmark.
They could, however, end up with a group of Iceland, Italy and Bosnia.
England seem destined to play Croatia given events since 2018 and that heartbreaking semi-final defeat in Moscow.
Southgate’s side drew 0-0 with the Croats in Rijeka in the first Nations League before the 2-1 Wembley win which sealed top spot.
Tomorrow’s draw also effectively fires the starting pistol on qualification for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Matches will be played in September, October and November.
The official qualifying draw will be held after the close of the Nations League groups, with seeding determined by performances over the six matches.
Europe has 13 slots for the World Cup and there will be ten qualifying groups.
Only the group winners will qualify automatically with the ten runners up going through to a 12-team play-off series in March 2022.
How the Nations League draw works
ONE team from each pot will make up the four team groups.
LEAGUE A
Pot 1: Portugal, Netherlands, England, Switzerland
Pot 2: Belgium, France, Spain, Italy
Pot 3: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Denmark, Sweden
Pot 4: Croatia, Poland, Germany, Iceland
LEAGUE B
Pot 1: Russia, Austria, Wales, Czech Republic
Pot 2: Scotland, Norway, Serbia, Finland
Pot 3: Slovakia, Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland
Pot 4: Bulgaria, Israel, Hungary, Romania
The final two positions in that tournament will be given to the two best Nations League performance who have not qualified either automatically or to the play-offs.
The 12 play-off sides will be drawn into three groups of four, with a one-game semi-final and final to determine the last three European qualifiers.
England are the only Home Nations side in the top League, with the other four British Isles teams in League B and playing for promotion to the top tier.
England lost to Croatia at the World Cup but did get the better of their new rivals in the inaugural Nations LeagueCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
