World Cup 2022: Scotland drawn with England, Iran and USA pending qualification
- Published
Scotland will face England, Iran and the USA in Group B at this year's Qatar World Cup if Steve Clarke's side triumph in the play-offs.
It would be a first World Cup finals meeting of Scotland and England, although they drew 0-0 at Wembley in the Euro 2020 group stage last summer.
Scotland are due to host Ukraine at Hampden in a play-off semi-final postponed from March to June.
The winners then face Wales in Cardiff a few days later for a place in Qatar.
The Scots are bidding to reach their first men's World Cup finals since 1998, having ended a 23-year absence from major tournaments at the Covid-delayed Euro 2020 finals.
Scotland, Ukraine and Wales were treated as one entrant and placed among the lowest seeds, pot four, for Friday's draw in Doha.
The World Cup runs from 21 November to 18 December in Qatar. Should Scotland qualify, they will begin against the USA on 21 November, then take on Iran and England at four-day intervals.
Scotland's only previous meeting with Iran was a 1-1 draw at the 1978 World Cup, while they have faced the USA in seven friendlies - most recently a goalless draw in 2013 - but never a competitive game.
'Scotland in a great place'
Former Scotland forward James McFadden believes the incentive of a historic meeting with England will provide extra motivation in the play-offs, and says there is "no doubt" Clarke's side have improved since last summer.
"Scotland are in a really good place at the minute," McFadden told BBC Sport.
"The performance at Wembley in the Euros was really good and we got slaughtered for celebrating a 0-0 draw, but it was a great performance and showed the potential of the young team.
"Now we have a strong squad and optimism we can get the job done. The response from the players and manager [since the Euros] has been outstanding. To think how far we've come in even six months is remarkable.
"It will be tough but the big incentive is obviously to get to a World Cup, we haven't been there since 1998, and to top it all off, you get to play against England again in your group, which would be absolutely magnificent. I'm sure it will motivate the players going into those play-off games."
Clarke's men progressed to the play-offs by winning their final six qualifiers to finish runners-up behind Denmark, and have since extended their unbeaten run to eight games with friendly draws against Poland and Austria.
The semi-final was postponed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with 4 June mooted as the likeliest date for the rearranged tie.