THURSDAY’s Nations League draw has been simulated by SunSport.
And England’s defence will be on high alert after potentially landing a date with Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland.
Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions will compete in League B after being relegated from League A.
England find themselves in Pot 1 along with Austria, Wales and the Czech Republic.
And fans are braced to discover which teams from Pot 2, Pot 3 and Pot 4 they will be put alongside.
But SunSport has simulated the draw a day in advance to discover what England’s group could end up looking like.
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And it’s bad news for Kyle Walker and John Stones, who were paired with lethal Man City team-mate Haaland.
Norway were the team that came out of Pot 2 in the simulation, leaving Finland, Ukraine and Iceland behind.
The Scandinavian side will look to Haaland for inspiration in the Nations League, with the hitman netting 27 goals in just 29 appearances for his country.
Norway also boast other stars like Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer and coveted Benfica midfielder Fredrik Aursnes.
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And England will be desperately hoping to avoid Norway when push comes to shove in tomorrow’s official draw.
Elsewhere in SunSport’s simulation, Albania came out of Pot 3 to join England and Norway.
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Their star player is Chelsea striker Armando Broja, currently on loan at Fulham.
But like Norway, they also boast some good names in Lazio defender Elseid Hysaj, Inter Milan midfielder Kristjan Allsani and Brentford goalkeeper Tomas Strakosha.
And Albania’s entry left Slovenia, Montenegro and the Republic of Ireland in Pot 3.
As for the final Pot 4, our simulation saw Greece emerge ahead of Turkey, Georgia and Kazakhstan.
Should England actually land them in tomorrow’s draw, Greece will certainly be no walkovers.
Nottingham Forest goalie Odysseas Vlachodimos, Liverpool left-back Kostas Tsimikas and West Ham defender Dinos Mavropanos are all key players.
And England fans will be hoping for a more forgiving group when tomorrow’s official draw takes place in Paris from 5pm.
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Elsewhere, Wales’ simulated draw saw them land Ukraine, Montenegro and Turkey.
As for the Republic of Ireland, they got Czechia, Finland and Georgia.
All you need to know about Thursday’s draw
England are in League B, and will be drawn against three other teams from each Pot.
- Pot 1: Austria, Czechia, England, Wales
- Pot 2: Finland, Ukraine, Iceland, Norway
- Pot 3: Slovenia, Republic of Ireland, Albania, Montenegro
- Pot 4: Georgia, Greece, Türkiye, Kazakhstan
When is the draw?
- The Uefa Nations League draw takes place on Thursday February 8 2024.
- The draw will be held in Paris, France.
- It will get underway from 5pm UK time.
When is the Nations League?
- Matchday 1: 5-7 September 2024
- Matchday 2: 8-10 September 2024
- Matchday 3: 10-12 October 2024
- Matchday 4: 13-15 October 2024
- Matchday 5: 14-16 November 2024
- Matchday 6: 17-19 November 2024
- Knockout round play-off draw: November 2024
- Knockout round play-offs: 20-25 March 2025
- League A quarter-finals: 20-25 March 2025
- Final tournament: 4-8 June 2025
What channel is the Nations League?
- England games at the Uefa Nations League will be shown live on Channel 4 in the UK.
- You can live stream the action for FREE from the All 4 app, which is available for download onto your mobile or tablet device.
- The rest of the games are available to watch on Viaplay in the UK.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
