England draw Scotland in qualifiers (From Bromsgrove Advertiser)

It’s never easy going to places like Moldova and Georgia and we know about the quality of Austria, Republic of Ireland and Serbia.

Group E on the other hand looks wide open.

Roy Hodgson’s team have been drawn in Group G, and they will face Scotland in what promises to be two huge games, as well as Slovakia, Malta, Lithuania, and Slovenia. However, a nightmare scenario could place them with Germany again, France, Turkey, Finland and Kazakhstan. Worldwide football is that wonderful bonus if you are doing well, but first of all you have to play well at club level.

The Scotland boss was at Hampden Park with coach Stuart McCall, and after a Q and A with some members of the Tartan Army, the draw in St Petersburg was broadcast. Martin O’Neill, assuming he will still be in the hotseat then, will be delighted how the group turned out no doubt.

The other 52 European sides were selected from nine pots, seven with six teams and two with five, depending on their worldwide ranking.

Pot two: Italy, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, Iceland, Denmark, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“The Scotland fixture really does excite people”. Some countries have players who can win games on their own; we haven’t got that at the moment.

“I don’t think between pots three and four, or two and three, there is all that much difference”.

Wayne Rooney helped England beat Scotland in a friendly past year.

More realistically, however, the other opponents in the group are sides Gordon Strachan will feel confident can be beaten to a play-off spot.

“For the mass media, it’s the fixture that is going to capture the imagination”. Hodgson told BBC Sport. They suddenly became the fourth best team in the world.

“We now have a group of players who want to better themselves, to achieve great things in their careers and, just as importantly, give our supporters the kind of experience they deserve”. But there are certain things you know over a period of time so it kind of slightly lessens your chances.

Considering that it is probably wise not to make more than the most general of assessments but, even so, it is safe to say that few nations are walking away from Saturday’s draw happier than England.