The 'Group of Death': What's the worst-possible World Cup draw for England and Scotland?

It is one of the great talking points in the run up to every major tournament: which group is the 'Group of Death'?

England have been dealt a rough hand in previous World Cup draws, most recently at Brazil 2014 when they were lumped with Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica - and promptly finished bottom of the group, with their flight home booked after only two games.

Thomas Tuchel's Class of 2026 will be joined by Scotland in North America next summer, after the Tartan Army's dramatic win over Denmark on Tuesday saw them qualify for their first World Cup since 1998.

What could England's 'Group of Death' look like?

The two nations will discover their three group-stage opponents on December 5, when the draw takes place in Washington DC.

This edition of the tournament is the first to boast 48 countries, up from 32, and they will be split into four pots of 12. Each group will consist of one team from each pot, resulting in 12 groups of four teams.

In total, 42 of the 48 participating teams have been confirmed, with the remaining six places going to the winners of the European and inter-confederation play-offs, which take place next March and include Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

It is unclear whether the six play-off winners will be automatically placed in pot four, or if they will be seeded based on the highest-ranked team in each path.

The latter scenario appears most likely, so let's tackle that one first.

England are fourth in the FIFA rankings so are expected to be in pot one, with up to two European nations allowed in each group and only one from the other federations.

It means a 'Group of Death' for the Three Lions could consist of play-off semi-finalists Italy - who, if they qualify, would likely be placed in pot two in this scenario - Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

England fans will need no reminding of their most recent meeting with Italy at a major tournament. The teams met in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley, with the Three Lions taking an early lead through Luke Shaw but ultimately falling to defeat on penalties.

Meanwhile, Egypt boast a talented squad which includes Premier League stars Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, while Saudi Arabia showed their capacity to spring a shock by beating eventual winners Argentina in the opening game of the 2022 World Cup.

If the six play-off winners are all placed in pot four, the Italians would again be the toughest opponent in that section, with 2022 semi-finalists Morocco - ranked 11th in the world - and Paraguay arguably the toughest opponents in pots two and three respectively.

Scotland's 'Group of Death' looks even more daunting, with Steve Clarke's men looking likely to be placed in pot three.

If the places assigned to play-off winners are based on ranking, this could mean they are grouped with Argentina from pot one, Italy and Saudi Arabia - although with the eight best third-place teams progressing to the round of 32, the Scots would still have a decent chance of making it through.

If the play-off winners are placed in pot four, Scotland could be drawn with Argentina, Morocco and Italy - another tough task.