32 nations will compete in eight groups of four, with four matches to be played over a 12-day period during the group stage. The winners and runners-up will then progress to the round of 16.
Stars including Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands), Aaron Ramsey (Wales), Jason Cummings (Australia), Eiji Kawashima (Japan) and Jackson Irvine (Australia) will be familiar to many followers of Scottish football, who are set to feature in the Middle East over the coming weeks.
Scotland have endured some truly bruising moments in the pursuit of tournament football since France 98’ and Steve Clarke’s side fell agonisingly short of booking their place once again after suffering a 3-1 play-off semi-final defeat to Ukraine at Hampden Park back in June.
However, there will be some Scottish representation in Qatar with 13 players currently plying their trade in the top-flight selected by their respecitve countries. SEVEN of those will appear for Australia, while Celtic and Rangers both have players involved.
Which nations will compete at the finals?
GROUP A - Qatar (host), Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
GROUP B - England, Iran, USA, Wales
GROUP C - Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
GROUP D - France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
GROUP E - Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
GROUP F - Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
GROUP G - Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
GROUP H - Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea
Which Scottish Premiership stars will feature?