The 32 teams who have qualified for the 2018 Fifa World Cup will find out this week who they will face in the group stages in Russia.
The main 2018 World Cup draw takes place on Friday in Moscow and will be hosted by former England striker Gary Lineker and Russian journalist Maria Komandnaya.
According to the Daily Mail, star guests lined up to appear at the draw include Nikita Simonyan, Diego Maradona, Gordon Banks, Miroslav Klose, Laurent Blanc, Cafu, Carles Puyol, Diego Forlan and Fabio Cannavaro.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
If today’s dress rehearsal is anything to go by, England could be set for a tough challenge in the World Cup group stages. Lineker tweeted a picture showing Russia vs. England as the opening game of next summer’s finals.
We look at which teams have qualified and how the draw will work.
When is the 2018 World Cup draw?
The draw takes place on Friday 1 December at Moscow’s State Kremlin Palace in Russia, starting at 3pm UK time.
How can I watch the draw on TV?
The World Cup draw will be broadcast live on BBC Two and Sky Sports. Fifa.com is also expected to live stream the event from Moscow.
Which teams have qualified for the 2018 World Cup?
Which teams are in which pots?
Fifa announced the pots for the draw after Peru became the final team to qualify. The four pots of eight teams were decided according to the October world rankings, in descending order.
Hosts Russia are top seeds and are in pot one alongside the seven highest-ranking teams. England are in pot two.
How does the draw work?
According to the Fifa website, no teams from the same confederation - with the exception of Uefa - will be drawn into the same group. A maximum of two European teams can be in any group.
When is the 2018 World Cup?
Starting with the opening match on 14 June, the 2018 World Cup will see a total of 64 matches played in 11 cities across Russia. The final will take place on 15 July at the Luzhniki Stadium, in Moscow.
