A total of 1.2 million tickets were requested, including 140,000 for the final due to take place at the Lusail Stadium in Doha on December 18.

Over 80,000 tickets were requested for the opening match of the tournament featuring the hosts Qatar on November 18.

The highest demand came from fans from Qatar, followed by Argentina, Mexico, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, England, India, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and France.

During this first sales period, which is due to finish on February 8, fans are able to submit their ticket applications at any time.

In this initial phase, it makes no difference whether applications are submitted on the first day, the last day or any time in between, as all tickets will be allocated following the closing of the ticket application period.

In cases where the number of tickets applied for exceeds the available ticket inventory for the domestic or international market, 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 March 8, along with the steps to follow and the deadline by which to pay for allocated tickets.

So far, only 13 of the 32 competing countries is known.

There is expected to be another first come, first served sales process before the draw for the tournament on April 1, and another chance to buy once all of the fixtures are known.