ENGLAND start their World Cup qualifying campaign away to Moldova on Sunday September 1 st and finish in Rome against Group Two favourites Italy 14 months later.

Scotland begin their campaign a day earlier with a difficult trip to Vienna to face Herbert Prohaska's Austria.

The English FA's delegation left Warsaw yesterday with a schedule which could prove a carrot in their search for a new coach to take on a challenge which also includes Poland and Georgia.

He will have just three Premiership games in which to assess and assemble his first team but Venables, who is sticking by his decision to quit after this summer's European Championship finals, said It was unavoidable to start this way.

"Ideally we would have liked to play at home, but with the way the fixtures were dropping we could then have ended with three away games on the trot."

Moldova, with a population of just four million, beat Wales and Georgia in the European qualifying campaign, but they have already run up the white flag for England's visit.

"It's impossible for us to beat them," insisted coach Ion Caras. "England and Italy are clear favourites from a group which will be very difficult for us."

England follow that weekend away with a home game against old rivals Poland and the tricky trip to Georgia in November a Saturday game.

They resume at Wembley against Italy in February, having ruled out an Easter game on the urging of a Premier League anxious to protect its holiday schedules.

The FA's chief executive Graham Kelly, has negotiated free weekends before all games bar the April 1997 Wembley game against Georgia.

That is followed by a trip to Poland on Saturday May 31st.

David Davies, the FA's director of public affairs, said that the FA entered negotiations armed with masses of data on geographical factors, like temperature and weather, their record against the other teams and an analysis of England's performances in certain months.

Scotland have avoided having to play any ties before the European Championship finals in England this summer.

And if they can get their campaign off to a flying start in three opening matches away from home, they will be set Lip to reach the World Cup finals for the sixth time in seven attempts.

The schedule also features Scotland's first international double headers and weekend matches on Saturdays and Sundays.

Brown and Scottish Football Association chief executive Jim Farry emerged from the negotiating table delighted with the list of fixtures.

After the Vienna visit, Scotland will play their first international double header with games in Latvia on Saturday, October 5th and Belarus on Wednesday, October 9th.

Their first home game will be against Tommy Svensson's highly rated Sweden a month later on Sunday, November 10th, probably at Hampden.

It is the first of three home games with Estonia coming to Scotland on Saturday, March 29th, 1997 and Austria on Wednesday, April 2nd in what looks a potentially make or break double header.

Those games look advantageous to the Scots as both Estonia and Austria will be coming out of lengthy winter breaks.

Scotland go to Stockholm on Wednesday, April 30th followed by a trip to Belarus on Sunday, June 8th at the end of next season.

They wrap up with two home games against Belarus and Latvia in September and October 1997.