​World Cup Draw Pots Almost Finalized: Japan & South Korea in Pot 2, Italy (If Qualified) in Pot 4

November 20 – FIFA has officially updated the world rankings following the latest international break. The World Cup qualification playoff draw, scheduled for 20:00 Beijing Time on November 20, will use these rankings as the basis for seeding. Furthermore, if following the precedent of previous tournaments, the World Cup group stage draw pots have also been determined as follows (rankings in parentheses):

Pot 1:
United States (14), Canada (27), Mexico (15), Spain (1), Argentina (2), France (3), England (4), Brazil (5), Portugal (6), Netherlands (7), Belgium (8), Germany (9)

Pot 2:  
Croatia (10), Morocco (11), Colombia (13), Uruguay (16), Switzerland (17), Japan (18), Senegal (19), Iran (20), South Korea (22), Ecuador (23), Austria (24), Australia (26)

Pot 3: 
Norway (29), Panama (30), Egypt (34), Algeria (35), Scotland (36), Paraguay (39), Tunisia (40), Côte d'Ivoire (42), Uzbekistan (50), Qatar (51), Saudi Arabia (60), South Africa (61)

Pot 4:  
Jordan (66), Cape Verde (68), Ghana (72), Curaçao (82), Haiti (84), New Zealand (86), and the six remaining teams that qualify through the playoffs.

Source: FIFA Official Website