England Supporters Requested 12,500 2018 World Cup Tickets

England supporters requested "just 12,500 tickets for next summer's World Cup in Russia after the opening two weeks of the latest sales period," according to Bryan Swanson of SKY SPORTS. The figure represents only 0.5% of applications "from around the world." FIFA revealed the numbers "following the opening of a second round of ticket sales" on Dec. 5. More than 2.3 million tickets have been requested this month and the current phase remains open until Jan. 31. Russian fans applied for the "highest number of tickets," ahead of supporters from Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, the U.S., Spain, Germany, Egypt and China. England is currently ranked 18th for global requests, with 12,489, but the FA is understood to be "relaxed by the figures" and anticipates a "strong turnout from fans" at England games next year (SKY SPORTS, 12/20).