England will face an immediate reunion with the side that denied them only a second major tournament win in their Euro 2020 qualifying group.
The Three Lions were among the second seeds when the draw was made on Sunday morning following their Nations League relegation and that has left them with an awkward task to secure a finals place. Gareth Southgate’s men have been drawn in Group C alongside Italy, the side that beat them in the final of Euro 2020 - and played a part in their poor performance in the Nations League.
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A meeting with Ukraine will also provide a difficult test, with Euro 2020 qualifiers North Macedonia and Malta making up the rest of the five-team group.
Speaking after the draw, England boss Southgate told the BBC: "It's ironic when you've had a fixture like we've had and then played them again already again so recently that you seem to have these sort of things," said Southgate, whose side lost to Italy in the Nations League in September.
"We know the quality of a lot of (Ukraine's) players. We had a good result against them at Euro 2020 but the scoreline did not reflect the quality of their team. They will be difficult games."
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Scotland to face in-form Premier League hitman and former European Champions
Scotland have also been handed a challenging draw as they look to reach the European Championships finals for the second consecutive tournament.


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The Tartan Army will head into qualifying looking to build on their Nations League progress - but they will have to face the might of Erling Haaland after they were drawn alongside Norway.
Spain are the other eye-catching opponents in Scotland’s group, with meetings with Georgia and Cyprus also on the agenda for Steve Clarke’s men.
Wales manager ‘pretty pleased’ with group opponents
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Wales are looking to qualify for the finals for a third consecutive time after reaching the semi-finals in 2016 before losing out in the round of 16 in 2020.


Robert Page’s side will face some long trips in their attempts to qualify with Croatia, Armenia, Turkey and Latvia all in their group. However, the Wales manager was not too disappointed when he discovered their opponents on Sunday morning.
He said: “We’re pretty pleased with the group. We’ve avoided some teams like Belgium, who we’ve played quite a bit in recent years. If you try to forecast what teams you’d prefer compared to others we’re not far from it. Overall, pretty pleased.”
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Northern Ireland given hope in their group draw
Northern Ireland were only one of the home nations not to qualify for Euro 2020.


That disappointment was only multiplied after their landed a debut visit to the finals just four years earlier after missing out on qualification in the previous 13 finals. A round of 16 defeat to Wales ended any hopes of making a major impact - but Ian Baraclough’s men will be quietly confident they can secure a place in Germany in two years time.
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Denmark are the big hitters in Northern Ireland’s group, with Finland, Slovakia, Kazakhstan and San Marino also among the opponents for the Green and White Army.
The groups in full
Group A: Spain, Scotland, Norway, Georgia, Cyprus
Group B: Netherlands, France, Republic of Ireland, Greece, Gibraltar
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Group C: Italy, England, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Malta
Group D: Croatia, Wales, Armenia, Turkey, Latvia
Group E: Poland, Czech Rep, Albania, Faroe Islands, Moldova
Group F: Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Estonia
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Group G: Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Lithuania
Group H: Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland, San Marino
Group I: Switzerland. Israel, Romania, Kosovo, Belarus, Andorra
Group J: Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Liechtenstein