England and Spain not in Pot One for World Cup draw

England and Spain will not be in Pot One when the draw is made for next summer's World Cup in Russia.As a result of the latest FIFA ranking, Pot One for the Russia 2018 draw on December 1 has been decided.Russia (hosts), Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland and France make up the top-seeded teams.

Spain, who moved up from 11th to eighth in the new rankings, miss out on the top group due to the presence of Russia who, as hosts, qualify automatically.
England also moved up in the latest rankings from 15th to 12th, but will probably end up in Pot Two.
Despite failing to qualify for the tournament, Scotland have shot 14 places up the rankings from 43rd to 29th.Wales slipped one place to 14th after they failed to qualify, Northern Ireland also dropped down the rankings, three places to 23rd, but the Republic of Ireland are up eight places to 26th.
However, neither Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland will be seeded for tomorrow's play-off draw.
Peru are the big winners. They've moved into the top 10 for the first time after qualifying for an Intercontinental play-off against New Zealand.The shake-up has left UEFA with 28 teams in the top 50, up one on last month, a rise that comes at the expense of the South American confederation, which drops down to eight teams.

Europe's play-off participants learn fate

• Russia 2018's European play-off draw took place on 17 October in Zurich
• Northern Ireland drawn against Switzerland, Croatia meet Greece
• Denmark to face Republic of Ireland, 2006 winners Italy to meet Sweden

The match-ups to contest the final four European tickets to the 2018 FIFA World Russia™ have been decided, as the play-off ties featuring the group stage's eight best second-placed sides were confirmed in Zurich on Tuesday.
Drawn by Spain legend Fernando Hierro at the Home of FIFA, the results mean Germany 2006 winners Italy will face Sweden, while Switzerland were paired with Northern Ireland, Croatia meet Greece and Denmark will take on Republic of Ireland.
The first and second legs will take place between 9-11 and 12-14 November respectively, with the winners clinching one of the last remaining World Cup tickets and joining the nine representatives from the continent already set for the finals.
"I would view this as having a second opportunity and that I will be playing in a 180-minute final,” Hierro said. "They all know how important it is to make it to the World Cup in Russia. Good luck to them all.”
Qualifying as hosts, Russia have since been joined by France, Portugal, Germany, Serbia, Poland, England, Spain, Belgium and Iceland, with 23 of the 32 nations now decided for next year’s festival of football.
On top of the four additional European places, the remaining five spots will be decided between 10-15 November, as three sides from Africa are yet to book their tickets, while the intercontinental play-offs will confirm the last two names in the hat for the Final Draw.
That will take place on 1 December in Moscow, where the eight groups will be decided, using pot allocations based on the October edition of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. Pot 1, which is already confirmed, will feature Russia, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland and France