England were handed the task of toppling a familiar old foe in their quest to qualify for Russia 2018 when Putin and co drew them alongside Scotland.
During the St Petesburg draw, filled with enormously stilted dialogue, Putin and Sep buddying up and awkward musical numbers, it was decided the UK sides would also face the likes of Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta and Lithuania in Group F after the draw was made. Hodgson will be mightily happy, along with every England supporter, that draws with world giants France and Italy were hastily avoided.
Speaking to the BBC, Hodgson commented;
“There was always a chance we were going to get a local derby with Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland all a possibility. The Scotland fixture really does excite people. We have got recent experience of what the atmosphere will be like. The games will excite the public, get people in the mass media excited too. It is a good draw all round – I think Scotland will be happy with it and we are happy with it.”
Adding;
It is a very fierce rivalry and that’s good. It’s not fierce on the field as the games are played in absolutely the right spirit. Both the game at Wembley and the game at Celtic Park were played in a very competitive manner and were extremely intense but there was certainly nothing untoward, there was not a bad foul in either of the two games. So let’s make certain we keep talk of fierce and intense rivalry to the many fixtures back in the past that people refer to.”
Despite double wins in recent matches against the fellow home mention, the former Inter Milan coach seemed coy to regard the side as outright favouriyes for the group;
“We need to be careful before we start describing ourselves as overwhelming favourites. We have to make certain we respect all our opponents and remain fully conscious that every time we don’t go on the field and do our job to 100% we could lose.
“We have had two very highly competitive friendlies against Scotland over the last year. For the mass media that’s the fixture that is going to capture the imagination. England v Scotland fixtures go back a long, long way in history and there has been many a fierce encounter along the way.
“Slovenia are a good team as are Slovakia, Lithuania and Malta are experienced at this level so I think it will be a very competitive group. We are happy with the group. It’s just a question now of trying to make certain that the players can handle it.”
As mouthwatering the group is, group D is set to be a humdinger also with the Republic of Ireland set to face off against Wales. Meanwhile N Ireland will not be thanking their lucky stars any time soon after being handed drawn against Champions Germany and Czech Republic.
Here’s the draw in its entirety.
Group A
Netherlands, France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg
Group B
Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra
Group C
Germany, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway, Azerbaijan, San Marino
Group D
Wales , Austria, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Moldova, Georgia
Group E
Romania, Denmark, Poland, Montenegro, Armenia, Kazakhstan
Group F
England, Slovakia, Scotland, Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta
Group G
Spain, Italy, Albania, Israel, FYR Macedonia, Liechtenstein
Group H
Belgium, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus
Group I
Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland