England manager Fabio Capello talks to the media after the preliminary draw of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Photograph: Julian Finney - Fifa/FIFA via Getty ImagesEngland, second last to be drawn, landed among familiar foes in a far from unfriendly World Cup 2014 qualifying group, narrowly avoiding the fate of being placed in a five-team group with France, which fell in turn to World Cup holders and current European champions Spain.
The draw in Rio de Janeiro was made in reverse order, with the top seeds allocated to their groups last, and England and Spain were the final two balls to be pulled out. England came out next to last, to be grouped with Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova and San Marino, while to Spain fell the decidedly trickier task of negotiating a group comprising France, Belarus, Georgia and Finland.
While both Group H and Group I ought to be winnable for their respective top seeds, there is no doubt England will have been relieved to have avoided the final group.
Montenegro drew at Wembley in a Euro 2012 qualifier last October, and England face a return in Podgorica this autumn to determine which side qualifies automatically from Group G for next year's finals in Poland and Ukraine. Both of those host countries managed to end up in the same World Cup group before England joined them, and Fabio Capello's side encountered Ukraine in the last World Cup qualifying cycle, with Andriy Shevchenko's side successful in the most recent encounter, albeit after England had qualified. Poland have also crossed England's path on a regular basis in the past, though are not the force they once were in European football.
The other two opponents in the group will also be recalled with affection. Moldova was where Glenn Hoddle took charge for the first time in 1996 and where David Beckham made his competitive England debut, while San Marino will forever be remembered for the low comedy of England's visit with Graham Taylor in Bologna in 1993, complete with "Do I not like that" and "What sort of a thing is happening here?"
At least Capello will not have to worry about a repeat or a return to his native land. The Italian coach will depart after the European Championship next year, and a new man will be in charge by the time England embark on the qualification process for Brazil. Group H should not deter any potential candidates, far from it, though it is unlikely to set anyone's pulse racing either. Sven-Goran Eriksson suggested this weekend that Jose Mourinho would be the ideal contender to follow Capello, though it would be something of a surprise were the Portuguese to tear himself from the excitement of managing Real Madrid and trying to become the first coach in history to win European Cups with three different sides for a leisurely trek round the Balkans and central Europe.
Elsewhere in the draw, Scotland and Wales were drawn together in Group A, which is neither particularly glamorous nor particularly easy, with Croatia, Serbia and Belgium fighting (hopefully not literally) for the top spots and even the makeweights of Macedonia no pushovers. Northern Ireland face some long trips in Group F, with not only Russia but also Azerbaijan and Israel, with Portugal and Luxembourg at least a little closer to home. The Republic of Ireland avoided France, to everyone's relief, though drew Germany and Sweden, along with Austria, Kazakhstan and the Faroe Islands in Group C. That is quite a tough group, though with Germany clear favourites to win the Republic have at least a chance of clinging to runners-up spot and a play-off place. The nine group winners qualify automatically, while the eight best runners-up play off to provide a European contingent of 13 for the finals.
Norway's charmed life continued with an astonishingly favourable draw in Group E, where the only real threats are Slovenia and Switzerland. Considered lucky to be seeded in the first place, especially at the expense of teams such as France and Russia, the Norwegians could easily end up qualifying for a tournament for the first time since Euro 2000. They are unlikely to be too worried by Albania, Iceland or Cyprus, and ought to be able to achieve one of the top two positions.
Greece, the other surprise seeds, also have little to complain about. They avoided the bigs guns of pot two, drawing Slovakia instead of France, Russia or Turkey, and should be able to progress from a group that also includes Bosnia?Herzegovina, Lithuania, Lativia and Liechtenstein.
That's how it appears from this distance, at any rate. By the time these qualifying matches begin to take place, just over a year from now, a European Championship will have been concluded and much will have changed. When the last draw was made, for the Euro 2012 qualifiers currently taking place, everyone said England had dropped lucky with an easy group.
That was before not just Montenegro but Switzerland came to Wembley and escaped with a point. England are still joint top of the group, on goal difference from Montenegro, but the game in Podgorica this October now looms even larger than before. If England win, they will qualify and the future will look secure. Lose, and the next England manager will know he has to negotiate the same opponents. It was exactly the situation that greeted Capello when he took over from Steve McClaren and then faced Croatia. He dealt with it remarkably well, and if he can do the same in Montenegro all should be well. Should he fail, the main problem for the next man will be taking over a team whose nemesis is no longer Germany, or even Croatia, but a team that have yet to make their first appearance in a World Cup tournament.
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