World Cup Draw 2018: Reveal Schedule and Explanation for Seedings, Pots

The draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup will take place on Friday, December 1, a little more than six months before next year's summer showcase is scheduled to kick off in Moscow, Russia.

As with the previous five World Cup finals, 32 teams will compete for the right to be crowned king of the international forum, and title-defenders Germany enter Friday's draw as the top-seeded side.

Like with any World Cup, hosts Russia are the only nation who have already been allocated a pool and will line up in Group A. They have the pleasure of participating in the competition opener on Thursday, June 14.

Peru were the final team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and FIFA confirmed in September that teams would be allocated pots "based on sporting principles." This is different to the old format, which saw the first pot ordered by ranking, with the three pots after that structured by federation.

Earlier in November, the Daily Telegraph confirmed the lineups for the four eight-team pots heading into the draw:

We explore the new procedure in further detail and give a breakdown of what to expect n Friday's draw at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow. 

Seeding and Pots Explained

All 32 teams will be separated into eight World Cup groups (Group A to Group H) this Friday, with one team drawn from each of the four eight-nation pots to construct each group. 

The 2018 World Cup will be the first of its kind to order pots via the FIFA rankings, a decision that could make it simpler for the higher-seeded sides to make it into the knockout stages of the tournament.

That was the notion put forth by football writer Michael Cox, who was left with the impression we may even see the overall level of competition among the groups suffer as a result of this year's changes to format:

While one can see why the FIFA rankings might serve as the best indicator of which pot a team deserves to be in, there has also been discussion as to whether the rankings themselves are decided in the best format.

The Times James Gheerbrant pointed to the example of Italy, who recently failed to reach the World Cup finals for the first time in 60 years, to illustrate how friendly results and other factors can unfairly hamper a team's ranking:

Poland are something of a surprise entry in Pot 1 after making a late surge in the FIFA rankings, while 2010 world champions Spain shuffle into Pot 2 to add some rare spice to the draw from their viewpoint.

Saudi Arabia, currently ranked 63rd in the world, will be the second-lowest ranked team taking part in the competition, ahead of tournament hosts Russia, who are ranked 65th.

As with previous editions of the competition, no two teams from the same football federation can be drawn against one another with the exception of sides from UEFA—European football's governing body—who can have two teams in the same pool.

Of those European participants, 38th-ranked Serbia are the only country who find themselves in Pot 4.

South American football writer Carl Worswick echoed his belief we're likely to see the teams from Pots 1 and 2 proceed:

Favourites are nevertheless under pressure to deal with that status, however, as few might have expected the likes of Italy, England or Portugal to bow out of the 2014 World Cup at the group stage.

Controversial though this draw may be, Friday's draw sets the wheels in motion for next year's blockbuster, as football's gaze descends upon Moscow in preparation for the big reveal.