Nations await football World Cup fate in St Petersburg
Eyebrows were raised when it emerged that France and Italy were not designated among the top nine European footballing nations. They will be in the second hat of names for the qualifiers for the next World Cup in Russia.
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It will be glitter and grandeur on Saturday in St Petersburg as 141 countries discover who they will play if they are to contest the 2018 World Cup.
Russian president Vladimir Putin and Sepp Blatter, the head of world football’s governing body Fifa, will address around 2,000 guests at a ceremony at Konstantin Palace.
The former residence of the grand dukes of the House of Romanovs has been restored to convey its former grandeur.
The Russian nobility used to stride through the brightly adorned corridors and saunter in the lavish gardens. They've been replaced by oligarchs, politicians and scientists who flock to the sumptuous venue on the fringes of the Gulf of Finland for conferences, exhibitions and corporate meetings.
Power will be at the heart of proceedings on Saturday. Can Germany retain the World Cup trophy in 2018? Will the five-time winners Brazil recover from their 7-1 humiliation against Germany in the semi-final in 2014 to take a sixth title? Will home advantage help a Russia team that is struggling to qualify for next year's European championships in France?
Given their travails on the road to France 2016, it's probably just as well that Russia - as hosts - are spared the vicissitudes of qualification.
Their players can look on as pundits and players ruminate on head-to-heads and back-to-back games.
Away from the pomp and circumstance, the nitty gritty involves six draws - five for each of Fifa's six confederations except Asia where qualifying has already begun, and an extra draw to find out which continents will face each other for two of the last spots available in the two inter-confederation playoffs.
The nine winners of the European groups will progress along with the winners of four play-off matches between the eight best second-placed sides.
Africa's five representatives will be decided by the winners of five groups of four sides after two preliminary rounds have reduced the nations from 53 to 20.
Four South American sides will qualify directly after an 18-match round robin between all 10 competing nations with the fifth-placed side guaranteed an inter-confederation play-off.
CONCACAF, the North and Central American confederation, will have three direct entrants, while the Asian confederation retains its four places.
The other three teams for the inter-confederation play-offs will come from the fourth-placed side from CONCACAF, the best side from Oceania and the fifth-best side from Asia.
Jerome Valcke, the Fifa secretary general, described Russia's preparations for the tournament as a high-speed train.
In a marked contrast to the seat-of-the-pants ride provided by the Brazilian organising committee, concerns have been raised over just one venue in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
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