The two sides have been placed into Group A and will be joined by Oceania Football Confederation Nations Cup victors New Zealand and Mexico, who lifted the CONCACAF Gold Cup last year.

World Cup holders Germany will go up against Copa América winners Chile, Australia, who clinched the Asian Cup crown last year, and the country which claims the African Cup of Nations Cup title in February 2017 in Group B.

The tournament, used as a test event for the following year’s World Cup, will begin with Russia’s clash with New Zealand on June 17.

The match is scheduled to be held at Saint Petersburg’s brand-new 68,000-seater stadium, although the venue has faced difficulties of late due to technical issues with the retractable pitch.

Germany’s encounter with Chile, set to be staged in Kazan on June 22, is another standout fixture in the group phase.

The top two teams in each section will progress to the semi-finals, with group matches due to be held in Kazan, Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Sochi.

Kazan and Sochi, host city of the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, have been touted to stage semi-finals while Moscow will play host to the final.

Today’s draw attracted high-profile guests, such as two-time Olympic pole vault gold medallist Yelena Isinbayeva, while FIFA President Gianni Infantino also travelled to Kazan for the ceremony.

Infantino admitted before the draw was conducted that the future of the Confederations Cup, which has struggled to establish itself as a showpiece event kn FIFA’s global competition calendar, remains uncertain and that several options remain on the table.

"Shall we play it in June?," he said.

"Shall we play it in November?

"Shall we think about the format?

"We are putting everything on the table."

Former secretary general Jérôme Valcke, who is currently serving a 12-year ban from all footballing activity for a series of ethics breaches, had claimed last year that the 2021 Confederations Cup would not be held in Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup in the country.