Here are highlights of the FIFA 2018 World Cup draw ceremony from Moscow.
The draw ceremony for the 2018 World Cup began at 8.30 pm (IST) at the Kremlin in Moscow. The actual drawing of the balls started around 30 minutes later and lasted for around half an hour.
The draw ceremony was led by former England striker and 1986 World Cup Golden Boot winner Gary Lineker and Russian sports journalist Maria Komandnaya and was a far simpler format than in previous tournaments.
The 32 teams were equally divided into four pots based on FIFA world rankings with the exception of Russia, who as hosts were placed in the top seeds' pot.
Each pot was emptied one by one into eight groups -- Group A to Group H -- which contained four teams each.
Two teams from the same confederation could not be in the same group, other than Europe, which has 14 teams, and could not have more than two teams in the same group.
The first match of the tournament will take place in Moscow on June 14, featuring Russia, with the final also in Moscow on July 15.
Pot 1: Russia (hosts), Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland, France
Pot 2: Spain, Peru, Switzerland, England, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Croatia
Pot 3: Denmark, Iceland, Costa Rica, Sweden, Tunisia, Egypt, Senegal, Iran
Pot 4: Serbia, Nigeria, Australia, Japan, Morocco, Panama, South Korea, Saudi Arabia
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DRAW CEREMONY
'21:28
FINAL GROUPS FOR THE FIFA 2018 WORLD CUP
Group A Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
Group B Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran
Group C France, Australia, Peru, Denmark
Group D Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria
Group E Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
Group F Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea
Group G Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England
Group H Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan
'21:27
Nigeria are D4, Panama G2, Korea Republic F4, and lastly Japan H4.
'21:25
Saudi Arabia take A2, Serbia E4, Morocco B3, Australia are C2.
This means the first match of the tournament will be Russia against Saudi Arabia.
'21:23
As things stand:
Group A Russia, Egypt, Uruguay
Group B Portugal, Spain, Iran
Group C France, Peru, Denmark
Group D Argentina, Iceland, Croatia
Group E Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica
Group F Germany, Mexico, Sweden
Group G Belgium, Tunisia, England
Group H Poland, Senegal, Colombia
'21:21
Costa Rica are E3, Sweden F3, Tunisia G3, Senegal take H2.
'21:18
Egypt are A3, Denmark C4, Iran B4, Iceland take D2
'21:16
As things stand:
Group A Russia, Uruguay
Group B Portugal, Spain
Group C France, Peru
Group D Argentina, Croatia
Group E Brazil, Switzerland
Group F Germany, Mexico
Group G Belgium, England
Group H Poland, Colombia
'21:15
Switzerland are E2, Mexico take F2, England G4, Colombia H3.
'21:12
Peru take C3, Croatia are D3,
'21:10
Uruguay are A4, Spain take B2.
'21:09
The real business begins now!
'21:05
Portugal are B1, France C1, Argentina D1, Brazil E1, Germany F1, Belgium G1, Poland H1.
'21:03
The draw has begun!
Russia, being the host nation, are drawn as A1.
'20:59
The draw assistants take the stage in Moscow. They represent Russia and seven World Cup winners: Laurent Blanc, Gordon Banks, Cafu, Fabio Cannavaro, Diego Forlan, Diego Maradona, Carles Puyol and Nikita Simonyan.
Hosts for the evening Gary Lineker and Maria Komandnaya are explaining how the draw will work.
'20:51
'20:49
FIFA World Cup's all-time leading scorer Miroslav Klose brings the trophy on stage.
"It (the trophy) has a magical impression. So many great footballers have held this Trophy in their hands. So it's a magical moment for me to hold it," he says.
'20:44
The ceremony is underway!
Russian President Vladimir Putin just gave a speech, highlighting the importance of friendship and fair play.
'20:19
'20:14
Hello everyone and welcome to live updates of the FIFA 2018 World Cup from Moscow.
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