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England to face Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra and San Marino on road to Qatar

Monday 07 Dec 2020
Qualifying for the FIFA 2022 World Cup will begin in March 2021

England will face opposition from Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra and San Marino during the European Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2022.

The road to Qatar begins next March and the Three Lions were drawn out in Group I, as nations from the UEFA region discovered who they'll be playing for a place at the next World Cup, at the draw in Zurich.

And for Gareth Southgate's team, there will be some familiar opposition standing in our way.

Poland have been our group rivals in World Cup qualifying on six occasions over the years, most recently for the 2014 competition in Brazil as well as for the 2006, 1998, 1994, 1990 and 1974 editions, with some memorable clashes taking place during that time.

The games with Hungary will be our first competitive encounters for the best part of 40 years, with EURO qualifiers against them in 1983 ending in two wins for England. But there's since been a number of friendly games with the Magyars, with the most recent being Hungary's trip to Wembley back in 2010.

And we've previously taken on the Albanians in World Cup qualifying too, for the 1990 and 2002 competitions with the Three Lions winning all four of their games.

The draw was made at FIFA HQ in Zurich by former Italy star Daniele De Rossi and Netherlands star Rafael van der Vaart

We also have a similar record against Andorra, winning all four of our previous senior games against them which came in qualifiers for the EURO 2008 and the 2010 World Cup.

And who could forget San Marino? The Three Lions have played the principality, situated in northern Italy, on six occasions over the years.

That started back in 1993 when we faced them in qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup, before also being grouped with them in qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup and EURO 2016.

The dates for all of England's games will be confirmed on Tuesday 8 December, with fixture information and membership updates to follow in due course.

If you haven't joined the England Supporters Club yet, then make sure you don't miss out and sign up now.

JOIN THE ENGLAND SUPPORTERS CLUB

The full draw
Group A: Portugal, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan

Group B: Spain, Sweden, Greece, Georgia, Kosovo

Group C: Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Lithuania

Group D: France, Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kazakhstan

Group E: Belgium, Wales, Czech Republic, Belarus, Estonia

Group F: Denmark, Austria, Scotland, Israel, Faroe Islands, Moldova

Group G: Netherlands, Turkey, Norway, Montenegro, Latvia, Gibraltar

Group H: Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta

Group I: England, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra, San Marino

Group J: Germany, Romania, Iceland, North Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein

By FA Staff