Ten sections will be drawn consisting of either five or six teams in each on December 7 in Zurich, Switzerland.
Scotland are ranked in the third group of teams alongside the likes of Russia, Norway, Northern Ireland, Hungary, Iceland and the Republic of Ireland, which means Steve Clarke’s team won’t be travelling to any of these venues as part of their endeavours to reach a second consecutive major tournament.
But they could be paired with recent adversaries Israel again, or sent to other recent venues like Kazakhstan, Gibraltar or Slovakia. There could even be a second trip of 2021 to Wembley on the cards if the draw falls in one particular order.
We’ve assessed the structure of the pots and come up with a nightmare group – and a best-case scenario below, for the Tartan Army.
Do you agree?
5. Andorra
Another where the distance is preferable to the other options, Andorra have won just once in two and a half years and would be a good draw from pot 5 which has some trickier alternatives. WR - 145 Photo: Catherine Ivill
6. San Marino
The worst ranked team in the world, should be - on paper - straightforward for a Scotland side which defeated them twice last year 6-0 and 2-0 and have done in all eight meetings, scoring 27 goals in the process. WR - 210 Photo: Ian MacNicol