2018 FIFA World Cup Finals: Start Date, Format, Details
The 2018 FIFA World Cup is set to commence on June 14, 2018 and after a thrilling round of qualification, the field is set.
• The 32 Teams Headed To The 2018 World Cup In Russia
The draw for the World Cup will take place on Dec. 1, 2017 at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia. Eight teams will be placed in a pot for a total of four, with one team selected from each pot to form a group. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stage in the tournament.
• World Cup Draw Pots: How Russia 2018 Field Will Be Picked
Each national team's October 2017 FIFA World Ranking will determine their pot placement. The highest-ranked teams will be placed in Pot 1, the next-highest in Pot 2 and so on. Russia will automatically be placed in Pot 1 as the host nation.
Only UEFA teams are able to be drawn with each other, with a maximum of two European nations in the same group. Otherwise, regional foes are kept apart until the round of 16 at the earliest.
Germany, Belgium, England, Spain and Brazil are among the teams that qualified for the tournament, while Chile, Italy and the United States faced heartbreak and failed to secure a spot in Russia.
The World Cup Final will be held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on July 15, 2018.
