World Cup draw 2018 - live updates: Reaction after England land Belgium, Panama and Tunisia in Group G

Latest reaction from the draw in Moscow after the Three Lions learned their fate

Russia 2018: A look at England's World Cup opponents

The 2018 World Cup draw has taken place, with the 32 nations that have qualified for next summer’s tournament in Russia now knowing who they must beat if they are to become world champions.

We have all the latest reaction from Moscow, where our Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney is in place inside the Kremlin State Place.

England were in pot two for the draw because of their middling Fifa world ranking – but Gareth Southgate’s side avoided any of the tournament favourites and instead will face Belgium, Panama and Tunisia in Group G.

Follow all of the latest below.

All you need to know:

When is it?

The draw for the group stages of the 2018 World Cup will be held at 3pm GMT on Friday 1st December, in Moscow. It will take place at the Kremlin.

Where can I watch it?

The draw will be shown live on Sky Sports or alternatively you can follow The Independent’s live blog to find out which group your country will be allocated into.

Who is in it?

The teams qualified are:

Uefa (Europe): Russia (hosts) France, Portugal, Germany, Serbia, Poland, England, Spain, Belgium, Iceland, Switzerland, Croatia, Sweden, Denmark

Conmebol (South America): Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia, Peru.

Concacaf (North/Central America and Caribbean): Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama

AFC (Asia): Iran Football, South Korea Football, Japan Football, Saudi Arabia

CAF (Africa): Tunisia, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Egypt

Key Points

2018 World Cup draw in full:

[1 December 2017 09:31 · Vithushan Ehantharajah]

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the World Cup draw!

The draw is scheduled to take place at 3pm but join us for build-up from Moscow, where our Chief Football Writer Miguel Delaney is already in place.

[1 December 2017 09:40 · Vithushan Ehantharajah]

Miguel has had his say on this afternoon's draw and asks: All the top countries are beatable, so why all the poker faces?

[1 December 2017 10:05 · Vithushan Ehantharajah]

England's Group of Death... 

The good news for England is they are unlikely to draw a group as tough as they did in Brazil four years ago, when they were lumbered with four-time winners Italy, two-time winners Uruguay, and eventual 2014 Group D winners Costa Rica.

Based on FIFA's October rankings, which have been used to seed all four pots, the nightmare group for England is Germany, Costa Rica and Nigeria.

While Denmark are the highest ranked team in pot three, and Serbia the highest ranked in pot four, England cannot be drawn with more than one other European side.

Should England replicate their most recent World Cup result against each of those teams, Gareth Southgate's side would end the 2018 group stage with just two points.

Find out all the other permutations here:

[1 December 2017 10:20 · Samuel Lovett]

A reminder of the World Cup pots:

Pot 1: 

• Russia (hosts)
• Germany (1)
• Brazil (2)
• Portugal (3)
• Argentina (4)
• Belgium (5)
• Poland (6)
• France (7)

[1 December 2017 10:25 · Samuel Lovett]

Pot 2: 

• Spain (8)
• Peru (10)
• Switzerland (11)
• England (12)
• Colombia (13)
• Mexico (16)
• Uruguay (17)
• Croatia (18)

[1 December 2017 10:31 · Samuel Lovett]

Pot 3: 

• Denmark (19)
• Iceland (21)
• Costa Rica (22)
• Sweden (25)
• Tunisia (28)
• Egypt (30)
• Senegal (32)
• Iran (34)

[1 December 2017 10:32 · Samuel Lovett]

Pot 4: 

• Serbia (38)
• Nigeria (41)
• Australia (43)
• Japan (44)
• Morocco (48)
• Panama (49)
• South Korea (62)
• Saudi Arabia (63)

[1 December 2017 10:34 · Samuel Lovett]

All eyes on Moscow  

[1 December 2017 10:45 · Samuel Lovett]

'Infantino says Fifa doesn't speculate on Russia state-doping allegations' 

Shock. In other news, the Pope is a Catholic and the sky is blue.

So what actually happened?

Well. Gianni Infantino on Friday dodged questions about the alleged existence of a state-sponsored doping programme in Russia, the host country of next year's World Cup finals.

Infantino was speaking alongside Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko ahead of the World Cup draw at the Kremlin.

"Fifa doesn't participate in any speculations about any situation," he said, referring to allegations of state-sponsored doping in Russia that could see the country banned from the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February.

Infantino said Fifa was testing players in and out of competition and that all tests from the 2017 Confederations Cup, the 2016 European

championship and the 2014 World Cup had proven negative.

"These tests are not carried out in Russia and they are carried out by non-Russians," Infantino told reporters.

"Obviously, as it was the case in the past and as will be the case in the future as well, if it turns out that anyone has committed a doping violation, has taken some doping, then there will be sanctions."

I'll just leave this here to make your own judgements.

[1 December 2017 11:09 · Samuel Lovett]

Our man Miguel getting in the mood in Moscow...