England joy at absence of June ties

Fabio Capello’s replacement as England manager could not have asked for greater assistance in his new job after it was confirmed there will be no World Cup qualifiers in June 2013.

A four-strong Football Association delegation spent just two hours and 15 minutes in Warsaw yesterday thrashing out a fixture list for Group H that could hardly have worked out better.

In addition to avoiding matches in June – traditionally the time of year when England players are at their most tired – the FA have managed to get two matches against minnows San Marino in the first five games, as well as an opening match in Moldova against the second lowest-ranked team in the section.

Visits to Poland on 16 October next year and Ukraine on 10 September 2013 have been arranged for times when England’s opponents do not seem to get the best results.

The delegation, led by Club England managing director Adrian Bevington, can therefore be well pleased when they travel home later today.

England’s qualifiers. 2012: 7 Sep: Moldova (away). 11 Sep: Ukraine (home). 12 Oct: San Marino (home). 16 Oct: Poland (away). 2013: 22 March San Marino (away). 26 March: Montenegro (away). 6 Sep: Moldova (home). 10 Sep: Ukraine (away). 11 Oct: Montenegro (home). 15 Oct: Poland (home).