England boss Thomas Tuchel will discover the Three Lions' potential path to World Cup glory next summer when the draw is conducted in Washington on Friday.

Tuchel was officially announced as England boss last year, with the German coach targeting 'adding a second star' onto the shirt by winning the World Cup for the first time since 1966.

A gentle group stage would likely help achieve that aim, particularly with the World Cup having expanded to 48 teams.

England have already secured the benefit of being confirmed in pot one in the draw, alongside most of the favourites and the tournament co-hosts Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The Three Lions, as one of the four highest ranked teams, will already avoid Spain, Argentina and France until at least the semi-finals due to a new seeding system.

Using the world rankings and conditions of the draw - with only UEFA nations able to play another side from their confederation in the group stage - England's dream and nightmare group stage scenarios can already be determined. 

Croatia would represent the toughest challenge England can face from pot two, owning to their position as the 10th highest ranked nation by FIFA.

Croatia also boast an impressive recent World Cup record having beaten England in the last four in 2018 to make the final, where they were beaten by France, before finishing third at Qatar 2022.

A group including Croatia would mean England cannot draw pot three's highest ranked side Norway, owning to rules limiting UEFA sides to facing just one of country from their own confederation.

It would see Panama, who are the second highest ranked in pot three, become England's toughest opponent.

Panama are ranked 30th in the world by FIFA.

England faced Panama in the group stages at the 2018 World Cup, where a Harry Kane hat-trick helped the Three Lions record a dominant 6-1 victory.

Pot four's highest ranked nation are Jordan, who are set to make their World Cup debut next year, having come through the Asian qualifying pathway.

Jordan are ranked above debutants Cape Verde and Curacao, as well as Ghana, Haiti and New Zealand.

According to the rankings, England's easiest group would see them avoid a European nation entirely.

The Three Lions could draw Australia and South Africa, who are the lowest ranked nations in pot 2 and 3, respectively.

New Zealand are currently the lowest ranked team in the draw - with six additional teams set to be added after play-offs in March - with the All Whites seen as the best nation on paper that England can draw from pot 4.

Australia and New Zealand can feature in the same group due to belonging to different confederations, having qualified through Asia and Oceania respectively.

Overlooking the world rankings, there are several nations England may be wanting to avoid in the draw.

An alternative nightmare draw could see England drawn against Colombia from pot 2, after they finished third in South American qualifying for the World Cup.

Norway would pose a dangerous pot 3 opponent, having qualified with a perfect record to the World Cup, with Erling Haaland's goals having inspired their first appearance at the finals since 1998.

World Cup regulars Ghana look a dangerous prospect in pot 4, having only lost one of their 10 matches in qualifying.

Qualifiers via the play-offs will impact the perceived easiest and more difficult groups, with the remaining six qualifiers all set to be placed into pot 4.

Italy are the highest ranked side featuring in the play-offs, with the four-time winners 12th in the rankings. Only Croatia and Morocco rank higher in pot 2, which makes the Italians a potential nightmare drawn from the lowest pot.

DR Congo and Iraq are the highest ranked sides who could come through the intercontinental play-offs at 56th and 58th in the world.

Should New Caledonia cause a surprise and make it through the play-offs, the 149th ranked nation would be the lowest ranked in the World Cup.