RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Fortune shone on England at the 2014 World Cup draw on Saturday as defending champions Spain and 1998 winners France were locked on a collision course in the race for the Brazil finals. England were drawn with Euro 2012 rivals Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland and makeweights Moldova and San Marino in Group H. If England slip up then they will have to go through the playoffs for one of four remaining berths. While the 1966 champions had little cause to feel hard done by it was a different story for France, drawn in the same group as world and European champions Spain. Belarus, Georgia and Finland make up their Group I. Brazil are pre-qualified as hosts, but for hundreds of millions of fans from around the world watching the draw unfold there was tension as they waited on their teams' fate. Scotland were drawn with a Wales side whose recent slide down the rankings has them lower in the standings than the Faroe Islands. The pair will face off with Croatia, Serbia, Belgium and Macedonia in Group A. Also in Europe, 2010 runners-up Holland will face Turkey, Hungary, Romania, Estonia and Andorra in Group D. Four-time champions Italy are in Group B with difficult matches against Denmark and the Czech Republic standing in their way with Bulgaria, Armenia and Malta. Three-time winners Germany lead Group C with tricky ties with Sweden and Ireland in prospect while Austria, Faroe Islands and Kazakhstan make up the pool. Group E features Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland, Albania, Cyprus and Iceland while Group F pits Portugal against 2018 hosts Russia, Israel, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan and Luxembourg. Greece are in Group G with Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, Latvia and Leichtenstein. World Cup draws featured a total of 166 nations and was made 91 years to the day since the first final saw Uruguay emerge as champions. FIFA president Sepp Blatter opened the occasion at Rio's Marina, a stone's throw from the Copacabana beach. "We are happy to be back in Brazil because it is now 61 years since the last World Cup was organised in Brazil. We look forward to an exciting World Cup." Before the main draw, the fifth-placed team in South American qualifying was drawn to play the fifth-placed team in Asian qualifying for a finals place. The leading nation from Oceania was selected to meet the fourth-ranked country from the North, Central American and Caribbean (Concacaf) zone that gets three guaranteed places plus one play-off berth, while Oceania's 11 countries are fighting for just a single place via that same play-off. Africa will have five qualifiers and in the draw West African giants Ghana and Ivory Coast were handed tough tasks. Ghana, quarter-final losers on penalties to Uruguay in 2010, will face formidable Zambia and Sudan plus minnows Lesotho or Burundi in one of 10 second-round groups. Ivory Coast, seeking a third consecutive finals appearance, drew the second seed no one wanted Morocco in a mini-league completed by Gambia and Chad or Tanzania In Asia, reigning Asian champions Japan and North Korea came out together. Australia's bid to qualify for third successive finals begins in Group D, where they will take on Saudi Arabia, Oman and Thailand. South Korea are in Group B alongside Kuwait, the UAE and Lebanon. China are in Group A with Jordan, Iraq and Singapore. In Group E, Iran may be favourites, but Bahrain, and 2022 hosts Qatar will be keen to make an impression. The top two nations from each of the five groups go through before the 10 surviving teams split into two groups, with the leading two nations in each progressing to the finals.