ENGLAND could face a NIGHTMARE Euro 2024 group despite securing a spot in Pot 1.
Gareth Southgate’s men laboured to a 1-1 draw away in North Macedonia on Monday night.
But the point did clinch their place as top seeds for the finals next summer.
England join hosts Germany, Portugal, France, Spain and Belgium in Pot 1.
But there is still a huge disparity in the quality of group the Three Lions could be handed when the draw is made on December 2.
Here are the best and worst-case scenarios for Southgate’s side as they attempt to seal a first major trophy in 58 years.
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Best possible draw
England have not been dumped out of the Euros in the group stage since 2000 when they were drawn alongside Portugal, Romania and Germany.
And this potential foursome would almost certainly eradicate fears of an early exit.
England could be drawn with 59th ranked Albania as their Pot 2 side, despite the nation’s only Euros qualification coming back in 2016 when they won one of their three matches.
They secured a spot in Pot 2 after winning their qualification group, although it was a weaker set of teams that included Czech Republic and Poland.
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The perfect draw from Pot 3 would be the 54th ranked Slovenia.
They have only qualified for the finals once – in 2000 – and have never won a match at the Euros.
Then in Pot 4, World No98 Kazakhstan are the lowest ranked side confirmed in the play-offs.
They will have to beat Greece and then either Georgia or Luxembourg in order to secure qualification.
But if they do make it, they would be a welcome draw for England.
Worst possible draw
Given England are seeds for the Euros, they could still receive a remarkably tough draw.
In fact, there is the possibility of them coming up against THREE former winners in the group stage.
Denmark, who Southgate’s men beat 2-1 in the semi-finals of Euro 2020, could be England’s nightmare Pot 2 draw.
The Danes topped their qualification group with seven wins from 10 games and boast stars such as Christian Eriksen, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rasmus Hojlund.
Meanwhile, Netherlands are in Pot 3 – another potential banana skin for England.
Ronald Koeman’s side were beaten twice by France in qualification, but contain a host of talent including Virgil van Dijk, Denzel Dumfries, Cody Gakpo and Donyell Malen.
Finally, perhaps the most extraordinary draw would be Italy in Pot 4.
The reigning European champions beat England on penalties in the final at Wembley two years ago.
But, after failing to qualify for the World Cup, they suffered successive losses to England during qualification for the upcoming Euros.
As a result, they will be placed into Pot 4 if Croatia defeat Armenia or if Croatia draw and Wales fail to defeat Turkey on Tuesday.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
