The Organizing Committee for FIFA Competitions has approved a new procedure for the 2018 World Cup draw.
Instead of the 32 teams being grouped by confederation, all 32 teams will be sorted into four pots of eight teams based on the October 2017 FIFA rankings. The hosts, Russia, and the top seven of the qualified nations will form the first pot. The next eight teams in the rankings will be in pot two, and so on.
The principles of the draw will still remain as they had in the past. No confederation will be allowed more than one team in a group, except for UEFA, which can have up to two. There will still be eight groups of four, labeled A through H.
The draw will take place in Moscow on December 1.