England will avoid Germany and Spain in Euro 2016
qualifying after being named as one of the top seeds.
Italy, Holland, Portugal, Greece, Russia and Bosnia-
Hercegovina are the other top seeds in qualifying.
The Republic of Ireland are among the second seeds, with
Scotland and Wales among the fourth seeds and Northern
Ireland among the fifth.
There will be eight groups of six and one group of five as
teams aim to reach the 24-nation finals in France.
The draw will take place in Nice on 23 February.
Seedings are decided by Uefa's coefficient system, which is
different to Fifa's world ranking.
France will also take part in qualifying, the first hosts to do
so after a rule change, although no qualifying points will
rest on their fixtures.
They will play in the finals whatever the outcome of their
games.
Explaining the rule change, Uefa president Michel Platini
said it was brought in because the hosts, who are normally
exempt from qualifying, have found it hard in the past to
arrange friendlies.
He added that France will join the group that includes five
teams.
Gibraltar, taking part for the first time after being accepted
as a Uefa member last year, will be kept apart from
neighbours Spain in qualifying to avoid exacerbating
political tensions.
Azerbaijan and Armenia will also be kept apart for the same
reason, but Russia and Georgia, who do not share
diplomatic ties following conflict between the two former
Soviet republics in 2008, have agreed to play each other if
drawn in the same pot.
There is also a change to the Euro 2016 fixture schedule,
with qualifying matches spread over six days rather than
being played on just Fridays and Tuesdays.
Uefa secretary general Gianni Infantino said the initiative
was good news for fans, broadcasters and national
associations.
Qualifying pots for Euro 2016 draw:
Pot 1: Spain (holders), Germany, Netherlands, Italy,
England, Portugal, Greece, Russia, Bosnia-Hercegovina
Pot 2: Ukraine, Croatia, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland,
Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Republic of Ireland
Pot 3: Serbia, Turkey, Slovenia, Israel, Norway, Slovakia,
Romania, Austria, Poland
Pot 4: Montenegro, Armenia, Scotland, Finland, Latvia,
Wales, Bulgaria, Estonia, Belarus
Pot 5: Iceland, Northern Ireland, Albania, Lithuania,
Moldova, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Cyprus
Pot 6: Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Faroe
Islands, Malta, Andorra, San Marino, Gibraltar
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