England have been named among the eight seeds for next summer's World Cup in Germany.
And that means Sven-Goran Eriksson's side will definitely avoid their fellow seeded nations in Friday's draw, in Leipzig.
Those countries are: Germany, Brazil, Argentina, France, Italy, Spain and Mexico. The major countries, in terms of the world rankings, who missed out on a top eight seeding were Czech Republic, Holland and the USA.
The seeds were selected by FIFA who took into account performances at the previous two World Cup finals and how countries have fared in the world rankings over the past three years.
Here is a look at how England compare to their fellow World Cup seeds.
ARGENTINA
Jose Pekerman's side were the first team to qualify for the World Cup from South America and will be one of the favourites, despite not having lifted the trophy for 20 years. Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo was their top scorer in qualifying with seven goals, while Juan Riquelme pulls the strings in midfield. Argentina have played in four World Cup finals, lifting the trophy twice.
MANAGER: Jose Pekerman
ONE TO WATCH: Juan Riquelme
NICKNAME: Albicelestes (White and Sky Blues)
WORLD RANKING: 4
BRAZIL
The most successful ever nation in the World Cup with five previous titles, holders Brazil will once again be the team to beat. They possess a potent strike force that includes Ronaldo and Adriano, as well as talented trio Ronaldinho, Robinho and Kaka. However, one statistic that gives other countries some hope shows the Brazilians have won only one World Cup trophy in nine attempts when the tournament has been played in Europe.
MANAGER: Carlos Alberto Parreira
ONE TO WATCH: Adriano
NICKNAME: Os Canarinhos (Little Canaries)
WORLD RANKING: 1
FRANCE
The multi-talented French squad struggled in qualifying and would have been forced into the play-offs had Switzerland beaten the Republic of Ireland in the final game of their group. The poor results were the latest part of a dramatic slump that started at the last World Cup when as holders they were knocked out without even scoring a goal in the group stages. They then surrendered their European Championship title in 2004, but in Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Patrick Vieira and William Gallas they have the players to bounce back.
MANAGER: Raymond Domenech
ONE TO WATCH: Ludovic Guily
NICKNAME: Les Bleus (The Blues)
WORLD RANKING: 5
GERMANY
The hosts are one of the most successful nations in World Cup history with three titles to their name, but they appear to be a team in transition. Veterans such as Oliver Kahn and Oliver Neuville are holding the team together, with Michael Ballack vital if they want to repeat their surprise run to the final four years ago. However, the rest of the squad are young and inexperienced and even the German FA say reaching the quarter-finals will represent a good achievement.
MANAGER: Jurgen Klinsmann
ONE TO WATCH: Bastian Schweinsteiger
NICKNAME: Die Mannschaft (The Team)
WORLD RANKING: 16
ITALY
All of Italy's three World Cup triumphs have come on European soil, so they maybe confident going to Germany. They qualified with ease above the likes of Norway and Scotland as Luca Toni finished top scorer with four goals. Expectations, as always with the Italians, are high and star names such as Francesco Totti, Christian Vieri and Alessandro Nesta will be under pressure to give the side their first triumph since 1982.
MANAGER: Marcello Lippi
ONE TO WATCH: Alberto Gilardino
NICKNAME: Azzurri
WORLD RANKING: 12
MEXICO
Mexico qualified with three players in the top five of the CONCACAF scoring charts. Jared Borgetti, the Bolton striker, finished top with 14, while Jaime Lozano and Jose Fonseca hit 11 and ten respectively. All that meant that they booked their place in Germany with ease, finishing equal top of their group with USA. The team are full of confidence after performing superbly at the 2005 Confederations Cup where they beat Brazil in the group stages and held Argentina to a 1-1 draw in the semi-finals before losing on penalties.
MANAGER: Ricardo Lavolpe
ONE TO WATCH: Sergio Santana
NICKNAME: Tricolor
WORLD RANKING: 7
SPAIN
Spain will be aiming to finally end a miserable record in the World Cup which has seen them reach just one semi-final - and that way back in 1950. They struggled in qualifying and finished below Serbia and Montenegro in their group, before beating Slovakia in a play-off. Star striker Raul is struggling with knee ligament damage, but there are plenty of other options with Fernando Torres, Fernando Morientes and Jose Antonio Reyes all available instead.
MANAGER: Luis Aragones
ONE TO WATCH: Fernando Torres
NICKNAME: La Fúria (The Wrath)
WORLD RANKING: 6