2018 FIFA World Cup: 3,496,204 tickets requested as first sales period ends

With only nine spots yet to be filled at the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup, 3,496,204 tickets have been requested so far as the first sales period ended on Thursday.
Most of the applications have come from Russia, while international demand accounts for more than 30 per cent, according to a report by the FIFA Media Office.
German, Brazilian, Argentinian, Mexican, US, Colombian, Egyptian, Chinese, and Polish fans all rank in the top 10.
Around 150,000 tickets have been requested for the Opening Match and more than 300,000 for the Final.
During the Random Selection Draw sales period, which ended Thursday at Moscow noon time, fans had the chance to apply for tickets for every match or for specific ticket products on FIFA.com/tickets.
In cases where the number of tickets applied for exceeds the available inventory, tickets will be allocated by a random selection draw process.
All successful, partially successful and unsuccessful applicants will be duly notified of the outcome of their applications by November 16.
Sales Phase 1 will restart on Nov. 16, with a first-come first-served sales period.
This is when the fans will be able to purchase 2018 FIFA World Cup tickets in real time on FIFA.com/tickets with immediate confirmation of successful application.
This first-come, first-served sales period will end on Nov. 28.
Tickets purchased during this sales phase will be delivered free of charge to fans in the weeks leading up to the tournament, with deliveries planned to start in April/May 2018.
FIFA has however said this is subject to change at any time.
It also said tickets may be purchased using Visa, Official Payment Services Partner of FIFA, payment cards, and other accepted payment cards or bank transfer.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that hosts Russia have been joined by Brazil, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Belgium, Germany, England, Spain and Nigeria to compete at the mundial.
The other countries which have qualified are Costa Rica, Poland, Egypt, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Iceland, Serbia, France, Portugal, Panama, Uruguay, Colombia and Argentina.