FIFA have confirmed Scotland will be in the third pot of seeds for the 2018 World Cup draw in Russia on July 25.
Last month's draw with Ireland in Euro 2016 qualifying denied them a place in pot two.
Gordon Strachan's side fell one place to 29th in the rankings and will be in the third group of teams.
Had the Scots followed up their friendly win over Qatar with victory in Dublin, they would have been guaranteed a place in pot two.
The draw, in St Petersburg two weeks tomorrow, could throw up some dream or nightmare scenarios following some unusual seedings.
Wales are in pot one and Italy and France in pot two, but Iceland are also in the second seeds and the Faroe Islands are in pot four, the same section as Ireland.
A good draw could put Scotland up against Wales, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Moldova and San Marino.
But they could be drawn against Germany again, plus France, Turkey, Finland and Kazakhstan.
There will be seven groups of six teams or two of five, with each country playing each other home and away between September 4 next year and and October 10, 2017.
Pot one: Belgium, Croatia, England, Germany, Holland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Wales.
Pot two: Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Slovakia, Switzerland.
Pot three: Albania, Greece, Hungary, Northern Ireland, Poland, Scotland, Serbia, Sweden, Ukraine.
Pot four: Bulgaria, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Israel, Montenegro, Norway, Republic of Ireland, Slovenia, Turkey.
Pot five: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cyprus, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova.
Pot six: Andorra, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, San Marino.
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