On 1 December, just over two months from now, qualified teams for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ will discoverwhere their group-stage matches will take place. Every month FIFA.com provides readers with a full breakdown of how progress is going with the construction and renovation of the tournament’s stadiums.

The roof at the westernmost Russia 2018 stadium in Kaliningrad has been fully erected, along with the entirety of the arena’s metal framework. The finishing touches are now being applied to the internal facilities. Spectators’ seats, coloured dark blue, light blue and white, are currently being made and the plan is to install them by the end of December. At the same time, safety barriers are being put up inside the Kaliningrad Stadium, while around the venue roads are being laid and parking spaces built.

The construction company working on the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium have advanced to the furnishing stage of the facility and the area around it. This includes building entrances and laying down pedestrian walkways within the main structure. Close to 160,000 squared metres of land will be redeveloped during this process. Progress continues on the stadium’s roof: the design has been implemented and corresponds to the initial architectural design, which saw the use of a single colour scheme that plays on two of the most prominent features of the countryside in the Volga region: water and wind. Seats are being put in place inside the stadium and the pitch is being carefully looked after by a team of experts, who are repeatedly mowing, watering and fertilising the grass.

In Samara, preparatory work on the football pitch has just begun, as rolls of 30mm-thick turf brought in from Italy are soon to be laid down. The roof of the Samara Arena is still in the process of being mounted, while at the same time an anti-corrosive layer is being applied to the stadium’s metal dome. Decorations are going on inside the facility, and outside the surrounding area is undergoing redevelopment - with the being ground levelled off, asphalt laid and greenery planted.

More than 13,000 seats have been installed in the stands of the Volgograd Arena, while down on the pitch artificial polymeric fibres are ready to be sewn in, as soon as the root system of the grass is properly embedded. The stadium’s internal and external facilities are being finished off and the roof is 75 per cent completed. Specialists are also constructing the storm drains and sewage system, while the power supply and communications networks are also being set up.

At the Mordovia Arena in Saransk, work continues on the roof, temporary stands and entrances to the venue. The core of the stadium is almost completely fitted out and now the finishing touches are being applied. The internal utility systems are quickly being put in place, to ensure the arena is equipped with electricity and the supply and disposal of water. Twenty-seven out of 30 lifts have already been built and the technology going into the football pitch is being installed.

The reinforced concrete is now fully laid at the Rostov Arena and both the framework of the roof and its membrane covering have been constructed. The internal and external utility networks are also complete. The arena’s multi-media façade, mega screen and seats are being installed. The site of the stadium is being redeveloped, with greenery being planted in the surrounding areas.

Finally, the easternmost Russia 2018 destination, the Ekaterinburg Arena, has also entered the final stage of its renovation: the landscape contractors are at work here too and covered areas for fans are cropping up around the perimeter. Artificial fibres have been sewn into the football pitch and the facility’s lighting system is well on the way to completion. Restoration of the venue’s older aspects is going ahead, while the facilities are being furnished and signage put up. In the very near future, Ekaterinburg will be able to welcome fans from all over the world to its brand-new stadium.