England have been placed among the top eight seeds for the 2006 World Cup.
Sven-Goran Eriksson`s side are in a top pool of hosts Germany, holders Brazil as well as Argentina, France, Italy, Spain and Mexico.
England will now avoid meeting those countries in the group stages when the main draw for the tournament is made on Friday evening.
Under the seeding system used by Fifa, England came out second to Brazil while Italy narrowly beat the US into eighth.
Fifa has used the same ranking co-efficient as in 2002 when seedings were based on performances at the previous two finals and a position based on world rankings from the previous three years.
"It`s excellent news," Eriksson told the English Football Association website.
"I think it`s right too. We are one of the teams that have the potential to do very well in Germany and we have some of
the best players in the world.
"Finishing top of our qualification group with the second best record in the whole of Europe was a big achievement and I`m sure that has played a part in this decision."
POT ONE
Germany (hosts)
Brazil (holders)
Argentina
England
France
Italy
Mexico
Spain
POT TWO
Australia
Angola
Ghana
Ivory Coast
Togo
Tunisia
Ecuador
Paraguay
POT THREE
Croatia
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine
POT FOUR
Iran
Japan
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Costa Rica
Trinidad & Tobago
US
