The first phase of sales draw to a close on November 28, with FIFA confirming a total of 742,760 tickets had been sold.

According to FIFA, most of the applications came from Russia but international demand increased steadily and accounted for 47 per cent of the figure.

Fans from the United States Brazil, Germany, China, Mexico, Israel, Argentina, Australia, and England all rank in the top ten.

The second phase of sales will be split into two parts, with the first taking place from today to January 31 next year.

It will allow fans to apply for individual tickets for all matches, excluding the opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia in Group A and the final.

They will also be able to apply for venue-specific tickets and supporter tickets.

Should the number of applications exceed the amount of ticket available, a random draw will select the recipients.

FIFA have stated that during the period, the time the application was submitted will make no difference to the chance of being successful.

The latest sales period includes supporter tickets, which will enable to official supporters of all 32 participating nations to request an allocation.

They can request supporter tickets, which will apply to each of a team’s three group matches, following the draw on December 1.

The official supporters can then apply for conditional supporter tickets for their team’s matches, which are for each of the four knockout-phase matches which could potentially be played by their nation should they progress through the rounds.

Participating member associations are allocated eight per cent of the purchasable capacity of each stadium in which they are playing, FIFA have stated.

The governing body have added that an allocation of tickets are available for disabled people in accordance with the number of seats available in the 12 stadiums, as well as for people with limited mobility or those classified as obese.

Tickets purchased during sales phases one and two will be delivered free of charge to fans in the weeks leading up to the tournament, with deliveries planned to start in April and May.

Applicants will be notified about the status of their application by March 12.

A first-come, first-served stage of the sales process will begin the following day and will run until April 3.

All fans attending matches at the World Cup need to apply for a "FAN ID" following a request from the Russian authorities.

It is designed to ensure those associated with hooliganism and fan violence at football matches are unable to gain access to stadiums.