England managed to avoid the shorter straws when the draw for the 1998 World Cup was made in a chilly Stade Velodrome here yesterday evening but some familiar stubble fields could await them in the later stages of the tournament in the shape of the Germans or Argentinians.

In the opening round Glenn Hoddle's team will share Group G with Romania, Colombia and Tunisia, a task which is tricky though hardly awesome. Being unseeded has hardly proved a handicap. England will not have to face the stronger seeds - Brazil, Argentina and Germany - and they have managed to stay clear of an early renewal of hostilities with Italy.

England will begin their latest quest to recapture the fading glories of 1966 here in Marseille on a Monday afternoon, June 15th, when they face Tunisia, ostensibly the weakest team in the group but, as they have proved in the past, a country with strong French football connections and capable of causing the odd surprise.

Seven days later Hoddle's team will switch to south-west France to meet the Romanians in Toulouse, a match which could do much to decide the group winners, although England's encounter with Colombia in the mining town of Lens, north-east of Paris, on June 26th could be the most crucial game of all in this section.

Scotland have been less fortunate, not so much because they will play in Group A with Brazil, the World Cup favourites, but Craig Brown's team will almost certainly have to overcome Norway to make the second phase by occupying one of the top two places. Not that Morocco, who were running West Germany close as long ago as 1970, can be regarded as pushovers.

At least Scotland will share the privilege of kicking off the World Cup when they meet Brazil in the new Stade de France at St Denis, on the northern outskirts of Paris, at 4.30 on June 10th. Morocco and Norway meet in Montpellier later the same day.

The Scots then travel to Bordeaux to face the Norwegians before crossing France to meet Morocco in St Etienne. While the 1998 World Cup will not involve the huge distances finalists faced in the United States three years ago both players and supporters will have completed a lot of mileage by the time the final is played in the new French national stadium at St Denis, on the northern outskirts of Paris, on July 12th.

This time there is no obvious `Group of Death' although Group D, which involves Spain, Nigeria, Paraguay and Bulgaria, looks the tightest. Certainly the hosts have got off relatively lightly. France and Denmark should see off South Africa and Saudi Arabia to go through from Group C.

In Group G what World Cup precedent there is supports England, who beat Romania in a foul-ridden match during the opening round in Mexico 27 years ago. The last time an England team encountered Tunisia was in Bobby Robson's final warm-up game before the 1990 tournament in Italy, which ended 1-1 in Tunis with Terry Butcher getting mixed up in a spot of bother with an opponent.

Colombia, like Romania, depend on a possessive, close-passing game which will test the technically-improved England side which has emerged under Hoddle. Only yesterday, Pele remarked how surprised he had been at the patience and passing skills of the present team.

At least England need not be surprised by Faustino Asprilla when they meet Colombia. And Romania's Dan Petrescu is hardly a stranger either. Marius Lacatus, who appeared in the exhibition match which preceded yesterday's draw with the team representing the European finalists beaten 5-2 by the Rest, has reminded Aston Villa of his enduring talents and little Gheorghe Hagi, who helped inspire Romania to some excellent performances in America last time, is still around.

Ronaldo's performance in yesterday's amiable kick-about, in which he scored twice against Europe and created the other three goals, offered a pertinent reminder that any team with serious World Cup aspirations will probably have to overcome Brazil sooner or later.

England will be grateful for the opportunity. Winning Group G would bring them up against the runners-up in Group H, Argentina's group, in the second phase. This is more likely to be Croatia than Japan or Jamaica. Finishing second is more likely to bring England face to face with Argentina, minus the hand of God, as the Group H winners.

Germany could fall across the path of Hoddle's team in the quarter-finals but only if they get past a likely second round encounter with Holland or Belgium, intriguingly drawn together in Group E.

In fact yesterday's draw has thrown up some potentially fraught pairings in the first phase. Italy will face the Chileans, recalling memories of a violent encounter between the countries in the 1962 World Cup in Chile when an English referee, Ken Aston, struggled to keep order. And of course the Americans would have to be made hostages to fortune by meeting Iran in Lyon on a Sunday.