World Cup draw 2018: What date is it and what time does it start?

It's the draw for the 2018 World Cup - the flagship international football event, which is due to be held from June 14 to July 15 next year in Russia. We'll find out the eight groups for the first stage of the tournament.

The 2018 World Cup draw will take place in Russia's capital city of Moscow on Friday December 1 - ie tomorrow - at the State Kremlin Palace, which is frequently used as a concert hall.

According to a FIFA spokesman: "This prestigious entertainment venue with a capacity of 6,000 spectators has hosted many international and locally renowned artists in the past, as well as traditional ballets and operas."

It will start at 6pm local time, or 3pm GMT. You can follow all the build-up and live coverage of the event itself right here.

A total of 32 teams will feature at the 2018 World Cup, 31 of them coming through a qualifying campaign and one (Russia) making it as host nation.

Those 32 teams will be split into four pots based on their current Fifa world rankings. Pot 1 will contain Russia and the highest-ranked seven teams. Pot 2 will feature the next best eight teams, and so on for Pots 3 and 4.

The draw will divide the 32 teams into eight groups of four from A to H. Each group will play three matches, before the top two countries advance to the second round. Russia will be in Group A as host nation.

The teams that have booked their place for Russia 2018 are:

Cristiano Ronaldo:

"I'm relaxed because, although some teams are stronger than others, all the groups will be balanced," he told Fifa.com. "I'm calm because I know that, when the time comes, the team will be ready."

"Whoever we're drawn against, we have to win, no matter what," he added with characteristic determination.

Leo Messi:

"I'll be following it, so long as we don't have training or a match."

Source: Telegraph