FOR all the flirtations with disaster of Germany, Argentina, France and Portugal, there is an all too familiar look about next month's World Cup draw.

On December 4 in Cape Town, Fabio Capello will learn England's fate for next summer - and a draw that at one point looked like being one of the kindest in the history of football's principle competition is looking decidedly more treacherous.

England's best hope is that FIFA seed them in South Africa - but they will not know that until December 2 - which would mean they would almost certainly avoid the elite of Brazil, Spain, Italy, Holland and Argentina.

For the purists, the likes of Wayne Rooney Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Franck Ribery will be a welcome addition to the finals, but those thoughts might not be shared by England as they look to win the tournament for the first time since 1966.

They could have been forgiven for rooting for Ireland or Bosnia-Herzegovina in Wednesday's play-offs, knowing France and Portugal will present significant obstacles to their hopes of success.

For all the troubles both of those countries endured in securing qualification, they will be among the favourites in South Africa. Worse news for England is that even if Capello's team are seeded, they could still be drawn against either of those nations.

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Given Portugal's recent success against us - knocking us out of Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup on penalties - they would be one to avoid.

And while France might come across as a nation in turmoil, the last World Cup is proof-positive of what they can achieve if they put their in-fighting to one side - losing the final to Italy on a penalty shoot-out.

England have every reason to believe they will be seeded, ranked at number seven in the world, which should mean they avoid the tournament's main threats.

Brazil, Spain, Holland, Italy, Germany and Argentina are all in front of England in the FIFA rankings, while South Africa will be seeded as the host nation.

Capello will certainly be glad to dodge Brazil, Spain and Holland having seen their qualities at first hand over the past 12 months.

ENGLAND'S cash-stretched 2018 World Cup bid could be saved a £50,000 bill to fly David Beckham to South Africa next month after Los Angeles Galaxy cancelled their tour of Germany.

The England midfielder would have had to take a private jet to fly from Germany to Cape Town to make it in time for the bid presentations, and the FA had agreed to fund around half the cost.