How it all works

The draw is due to start at 3pm Irish time and will be live on RTÉ2 and online.

How will it work?

The 32 teams will be split into eight four-team groups. Each team is in one of four pots, with their position in the FIFA world rankings for October determining which pot they occupy. The exception to that is hosts Russia, who are in Pot One. England are in Pot Two. There can be a maximum of two European sides per group, but no other confederation can have more than one team in a group, so no South American sides will go head to head in the group phase for example.

What’s the line-up of the pots?

Pot 1: Russia (hosts), Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland, France

Pot 2: Spain, Peru, Switzerland, England, Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico, Croatia

Pot 3: Denmark, Iceland, Costa Rica, Sweden, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Iran Pot 4: Serbia, Nigeria, Australia, Japan, Morocco, Panama, South Korea, Saudi Arabia

What’s the worst possible draw for England?

Based on the October FIFA rankings, it would be Germany, Costa Rica and Nigeria. There are other nightmare scenarios too though – Brazil, Sweden and Nigeria would also be pretty unpalatable.

And the best draw?

The easiest draw, based on the rankings, would be Russia, Senegal and Saudi Arabia. But England proved at the 2010 World Cup that any group can be tough, scraping through to the knockout stage with two draws and a win against the United States, Algeria and Slovenia respectively.

Anything else?

‘Match of the Day’ and BT Sport football host Gary Lineker (left) will be a familiar face to audiences as he co-presents the draw with Russian journalist Maria Komandnaya. Lineker faced criticism for taking on the role after previously speaking out against FIFA over its various corruption scandals.