SHELLEY Kerr admitted Scotland face a very tough task in France next summer after they were pitted against England, Japan and Argentina in Group D when the World Cup draw was made at La Seine Marseille in Paris last night.

The opener, against England in Nice on June 9, is a re-run of Scotland's opening Euro 2017 game in Utrecht, which resulted in a 6-0 win for the English. Kerr replaced Anna Signeul as head coach after that tournament, just as Phil Neville came in for Mark Sampson, and the head coach believes her side will fare better in France.

“We went into the Euros with four starting players out through injury,” Kerr said. “That would decimate any team on a European or world stage.

“On top of that we've matured and developed massively as a team. We've got some talented youngsters and some really experienced pros. Now it's all about planning and how we get to the next level.

“We've got to a World Cup finals for the first time so we've got to embrace it. Tactically we've developed, as well as having a critical mass of players who are really, really hungry. When you've got a good level of competition it increases the level of performance as well.”

England, as the Pot 1 team, were drawn out first and were followed by Japan from Pot 2, Scotland from the third seeds, and finally Argentina, the highest ranked nation in Pot 4.

“You're playing Japan, who are a formidable force and runners-up in 2015,” Kerr pointed out. “England, bronze medallists in 2015 and Argentina as well, who have played in World Cup finals before.”

The head coach might have added that as well as losing the final to USA in Canada three years ago, Japan won the tournament in 2011, when it was played in Germany. Playing in Europe is obviously no barrier to a nation which has always been among the best in women's football.

Argentina, like most of the South American nations, have suffered from receiving minimal support from their federation, although that is now changing. Nevertheless, Scotland can still hope to qualify for the last 16 as, at the very least, one of the four best third placed teams in the six groups.

After playing England, Scotland will meet Japan in Rennes and then travel to Paris, and the Parc de Princes, for the final group game against Argentina.

“It's a very, very tough first game, and a very tough second game,” Kerr conceded. But when you're a manager you want to compete on the world stage - that's what football's all about. I'm really excited about playing the best teams in a World Cup.”

The draw was a complicated affair as no two teams from the same confederation could be in the same group – with the exception of Uefa, who provided nine of the 24 finalists, including the hosts. The trophy itself was brought on to the stage by USA captain Carli Lloyd, scorer of a hat-trick against Japan in the 2015 final, and said she was “pretty confident” that her side would retain the trophy this summer.

The draw was conducted by Louis Saha and Alex Scott, the former England player, but by far the biggest round of applause was reserved for one of the assistants – Didier Deschamps, who became only the third man to win the World Cup as a player and manager when he led France to a tournament win in Russia earlier this year.

Despite the unrest in other parts of the French capital, there was no attempt to disrupt the draw in the outlying Boulogne-Billacourt area. Access to the Seine Musicale was from pedestrian bridges on either side of the famous French river and security was tight for the event.