Caltex Socceroos' FIFA World Cup draw: European scout

Jason Pine 1511832378,1511833646

The Caltex Socceroos will definitely meet one and possibly two European nations in their FIFA World Cup group next year.

The only European side they can't meet in pool play is Serbia, who are placed in the same pot as the Socceroos and therefore cannot be drawn in Australia's group.

Here's the lowdown on the 13 European teams the Socceroos could meet at Russia 2018 when the draw is made on Saturday morning (AEDT).

BELGIUM

World ranking: 5

Number of previous World Cups: 12

Best finish: 4th in 1986

How they qualified for Russia: Winners of European Group H, winning nine and drawing one of their ten games, scoring 43 goals and conceding just six.

CROATIA

World ranking: 18

Number of previous World Cups: 4

Best finish: 3rd in 1998

How they qualified for Russia: Runners-up in European Group I behind Iceland, then beat Greece 4-1 in their playoff.

DENMARK

World ranking: 19

Number of previous World Cups: 4

Best finish: Quarter-finals in 1998

How they qualified for Russia: Runners-up in European Group E behind Poland, then beat Republic of Ireland 5-1 in their playoff.

ENGLAND

World ranking: 12

Number of previous World Cups: 14

Best finish: Winners in 1966

How they qualified for Russia: Winners of European Group F, winning eight and drawing two matches, scoring 18 goals and conceding just three.

FRANCE

World ranking: 7

Number of previous World Cups: 14

Best finish: Winners in 1998

How they qualified for Russia: Winners of European Group A, with a seven-win, two-draw and one-loss record.

GERMANY

World ranking: 1

Number of previous World Cups: 18

Best finish: Winners in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014

How they qualified for Russia: Winners of European Group C, winning all ten matches, scoring 43 goals and conceding just four.

ICELAND

World ranking: 21

Number of previous World Cups: 0

Best finish: n/a

How they qualified for Russia: Winners of European Group I, winning seven, drawing one and losing two games, scoring 16 goals and conceding seven.

POLAND

World ranking: 6

Number of previous World Cups: 7

Best finish: Third in 1974 and 1982

How they qualified for Russia: Winners of European Group E, winning eight, drawing one and losing one of their games, scoring 28 goals and conceding 14.

PORTUGAL

World ranking: 3

Number of previous World Cups: 6

Best finish: Third in 1966

How they qualified for Russia: Winners of European Group B, winning nine and losing one of their ten games, scoring 32 goals and conceding just four.

RUSSIA

World ranking: 65

Number of previous World Cups: 10

Best finish: Fourth in 1966

How they qualified for Russia: Automatically qualified as hosts

SPAIN

World ranking: 8

Number of previous World Cups: 14

Best finish: Winners in 2010

How they qualified for Russia: Winners of European Group G, winning nine and drawing one of their ten games, scoring 36 goals and conceding just three.