The draw for the first 48-team World Cup takes place on Friday, ahead of the finals from 11 June to 19 July next year in North America. AFP Sport tells you all you need to know about how it works:
TOP SEEDS KEPT APART
Teams are split into four pots of 12 based on the latest world ranking, with one team from each pot going into each of the 12 groups of four. For the first time, FIFA has decided that the draw will be done in such a way as to ensure the four highest-ranked nations are kept apart. Spain, Argentina, France and England will not therefore be able to meet before the semifinals, if all four top their groups.
No group can have more than one team from the same confederation, except UEFA. With 16 teams qualifying, that means four of the 12 groups will contain two European nations.
The three host nations have already been assigned to groups: The United States will be in Group D and will play two matches in Los Angeles as well as one in Seattle. Mexico will be in Group A in which they play two matches at the Azteca in Mexico City –- including the tournament's opening game on 11 June - and one in Guadalajara. Canada will occupy Group B with one game in Toronto and two in Vancouver.
EXTRA KNOCKOUT ROUND
An expanded tournament, featuring 50 per cent more participants than at the last World Cup in 2022, means a lot more games. There is now an extra knockout round, with a round of 32 featuring the top two teams from each of the 12 groups, plus the eight best third-placed sides. In other words, the group phase will feature 72 games but will see just 16 of the 48 teams be eliminated.
TEAMS BY SEEDING
Pot 1: United States, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia
Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, 4 x UEFA play-off winners, 2 x Intercontinental play-off winners
UEFA play-offs (16 teams split into four paths of four teams in each, with one winner from each path qualifying; one-off semifinals to be played March 26, one-off finals on March 31)
Path A: Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina v Italy or Northern Ireland
Path B: Ukraine or Sweden v Poland or Albania
Path C: Slovakia or Kosovo v Turkey or Romania
Path D: Czech Republic or Ireland v Denmark or North Macedonia
Intercontinental play-offs (6 teams split into two paths, with one team from each path qualifying; one-off semifinals to be played March 26, finals on March 31; all matches to be played in Mexico)
New Caledonia or Jamaica v DR Congo
Bolivia or Suriname v Iraq