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Watch the European section of the World Cup draw

England will face Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, and San Marino in Group H when they bid to qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

Scotland and Wales were drawn together in Group A, and will play Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Northern Ireland are up against Portugal, Russia, Israel, Azerbaijan and Luxembourg in Group F.

Only group winners are guaranteed a place at the tournament.

With 13 places available in Brazil for European teams, the eight-best second-placed teams will play-off against each other to go through.

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It is not an easy draw. You have to be really, really focused and play every game like a final - but that will be another manager's job

England manager Fabio Capello

The Republic of Ireland were drawn against Germany, Sweden, Austria, Faroe Islands and Kazakhstan in Group C, while France and world champions Spain are in a five-team group - the only European group without six teams - along with Belarus, Georgia and Finland.

"Three years is a long time and 2014 isn't now," said France coach Laurent Blanc. "Spain are currently the best team there is but we don't know if that will be the case in two or three years' time.

"You have to go up against the best if you want to achieve something at a World Cup."

In the qualifying process for the 2014 World Cup, 203 teams will play an eventual 824 matches across the globe.

The draws for the Africa, Asia, Oceania and the North, Central America and Caribbean regions also took place in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, although no draw was made for South America as its nine teams qualify through a one-group championship.

The finals will take place between 12 June and 13 July, and a decision on whether to introduce goal-line technology will be taken at next March's meeting of the International FA Board, the game's lawmakers.

Continue reading the main story The total of 203 teams vying for one of 31 World Cup spots in Brazil surpasses the 200 who participated four years agoThe only associations not to have signed up to compete for 2014 qualification are Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Guam and MauritaniaFifa would not draw Azerbaijan and Armenia together, nor Russia and Georgia, because of political conflicts which they said could lead to fan violence during matchesGermany has been the most successful team in the last six World Cup qualifying campaigns, with only two losses in 74 matches

England manager Fabio Capello was present at the draw, although he is set to move on next summer after the conclusion of the European Championships.

Montenegro drew 0-0 with England at Wembley in October in their qualifier for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

"It is not an easy draw," said Capello. "You have to be really, really focused and play every game like a final - but that will be another manager's job.

"We know Montenegro very well and we have to play against them again. Poland are improving and will be really focused and will be tough opponents. With Ukraine I remember the game we lost against them in the last match during the qualification for South Africa. Moldova are not so strong, and San Marino the same."

Wales manager Gary Speed said: "It's obviously a tough draw. It's a really tough group, but it could have been worse. There are no weak teams in the group. It's one of those groups where everyone can beat anyone."

Scotland boss Craig Levein admitted he had hoped to miss Speed's side in the draw, saying: "I would have rather avoided Wales because obviously it brings in that home international rivalry, which we probably could have done without.

"We have recent good experience of playing Wales, when we won against them over in Dublin recently, but also not so long ago we lost 3-0 to Wales, so it's a bit of a mixed bag."

Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington said of Group F: "It looks a reasonably tough group, but it could have been worse. There is a fair bit of travelling but you have to deal with that."

Find the 2014 World Cup preliminary draw in full here (external site).

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Powell keeps Wales World Cup hope

Sale Sharks back-row forward Andy Powell has won 17 Wales caps Andy Powell has not given up hope of forcing his way back into Wales coach Warren Gatland's World Cup plans.

The Sale Sharks back-rower was part of an initial 45-man squad that travelled to Spala in Poland for a training camp.

Powell was left out when the squad was trimmed for a second week but he said: "It's everybody's dream to be in a World Cup and if it does happen great.

"But my focus now is playing for Sale and the Welsh thing is at the back of my mind."

The 29-year-old was ommitted when Gatland cut the squad to the second training camp to 35, along with players like Cardiff Blues scrum-half Richie Rees and Ospreys forward Jonathan Thomas.

Powell does face tough back-row competition and it seems Ryan Jones, Dan Lydiate, Toby Faletau, Josh Turnbull, Rob McCusker and Justin Tipuric are ahead of him in the Wales pecking order.

But the coach did say: "The door is still very much open for those players who are not making this trip."

Powell, however, is now concentrating on his new club following his summer move from Wasps.

"We'll watch to see what the other boys, youngsters can do. It's an opportunity for them," said Powell.

"And for me it's just to go back up to Sale, train well and catch the coaches' eyes up there so they can give feedback to Gatland to say that I'm still training hard.

"But he was positive, he said 'keep going'... which is good from that perspective.

"England is coming up now [in] two weeks but all I can do is keep training hard and if it comes along I'll grasp it with two hands."

Wales go to Twickenham on 6 August to face England before a return Test in Cardiff the following Saturday, then complete their World Cup warm-up programme against Argentina on 20 August.

Gatland must then name his final 30-man squad for September's World Cup in New Zealand by 22 August.

Powell has not added to his 17 Wales caps since starting the 19-26 defeat to England in last season's Six Nations opener, where he suffered an injury early on.

"It was very frustrating, probably playing some of the best rugby I've played from the Lions up to that England game," Powell said.

"First 10 minutes taking a knock on the shoulder and probably not recovering from it for about six to eight weeks... it puts you back a few places.

"I was confident, I know my own ability and I work hard off the pitch to get myself back right."

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Parks completes world record bid

Parks has climbed Everest, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Vinson, Aconcagua, Carstensz Pyramid and Denali, and reached the North and South Poles Ex-Wales rugby international Richard Parks has achieved his world record bid to climb the highest mountain on each of the world's continents.

Parks, 33, completed the final leg of the seven-month race by climbing the highest summit in Europe, Russia's Mount Elbrus, on Tuesday.

The challenge took six months, 11 days, seven hours and 53 minutes to complete.

"It hasn't sunk in yet what we've achieved," said Parks from the summit of Elbrus.

"My energy levels went from a quarter of a tank to pretty much bone dry and the last hour of this summit I had to dig pretty deep.

"Mentally it was quite tough...I feel sort of numb.

"It's really hard to put into words."

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I'm not sure if I've got another mountain in me for at least a couple of months

Richard Parks Former Wales rugby international

Parks fell seven metres into a crevasse on Denali in Alaska and has had to overcome frostbite on his right big toe to achieve his 737 Challenge.

"I had every confidence that I'd be able to do it from day one," added former Dragons flanker Parks.

"However some of the hurdles and dramas that we've had in the last seven months, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't had my doubts.

"Physically my body has just about held out.

"I'm not sure if I've got another mountain in me for at least a couple of months."

Parks also reached the North and South Poles and reached the summits of Kilimanjaro (Africa), Everest (Asia), Vinson (Antartica), Aconcagua (South America), Carstensz Pyramid (Australia) as part of the charity challenge.

"To stand on the top of the world's highest mountains and some of the most beautiful places on earth, I'm just so grateful to so many people who've made the 737 Challenge possible," he said.

"This project has been about so much more than just me."

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