It's less than two years until the next Rugby World Cup kicks off and the line-up for the 2027 tournament in Australia is almost complete.
The competition will be the largest ever, having been expanded to include 24 teams, four more than the number that competed in France in 2023. All but one of the participating teams has now been confirmed, with four sides set to battle it out for the final spot at the tournament as the qualifying process reaches its climax.
Those four teams - Samoa, Namibia, Belgium and Paraguay - have been entered into World Rugby's Final Qualification Tournament (FQT), a four-team round-robin competition to decide who gets the last remaining ticket to head Down Under in two years' time.
The tournament will be held in Dubai between November 8-18 and played over three match days, with each team facing the others once. Whoever finishes top of the standings on competition points after the three rounds will qualify for Australia 2027.
Of course, with just a single place up for grabs, at least one tournament regular - Samoa or Namibia, or both - will miss out on a place at a Rugby World Cup for the first time in the 21st century.
Both sides have been ever-present at the tournament in recent years, with the Samoans featuring at every tournament since 1991, and Namibia qualifying for each competition since 1999. However, they could now miss out altogether, with the unprecedented scenario that they both fail to qualify opening the door to either Belgium or Paraguay to make their debuts.
Samoa had hoped to qualify through their two-leg qualifying play-off match against Chile last month, but were defeated by the South Americans who recorded a surprise 63-44 aggregate win to book their place at only their second World Cup.
Namibia, meanwhile, made it through to the FQT by thumping the United Arab Emirates 29-86 in the Asia/ Africa play-off match earlier this year, while Belgium booked their spot by finishing as the fifth-placed team in this year's Rugby Europe Championship.
Paraguay also made it through to the repechage tournament over the weekend by defeating an ill-disciplined Brazil side 70-43 on aggregate in their South American qualifier.
Whoever comes out on top in the FQT will book their spot at the World Cup in two years time, and will be entered into the draw which takes place in December. It will be the first time in the competition's history where all the qualified teams are known prior to the draw being made, with world ranking places after the autumn internationals determining the seedings.
Twelve teams qualified automatically for the 2027 tournament by finishing in the top three in each of the four pools at the last World Cup in France. Those teams were the Six Nations - England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, France and Italy - and Rugby Championship sides - South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Argentina - as well as Fiji and Japan.
Georgia qualified as winners of the Rugby Europe Championship, with Spain, Romania and Portugal also making it through after finishing second, third and fourth respectively in the same competition.
Uruguay booked their spot after winning the Sudamérica Rugby Championship, with Rugby Africa Cup champions Zimbabwe returning to the World Cup stage for the first time in over 35 years. The tournament in Australia will also see Hong Kong make their debut after booking their place by winning the Asia Rugby Championship.
Tonga, Canada and the United States also all made it through by finishing third, fourth and fifth respectively in the Pacific Nations Cup, and they will be joined Down Under by Chile and the winner of the FQT.
Ahead of the FQT next month, World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson said: "The Final Qualification Tournament represents the ultimate test of resilience, belief, and ambition for these four nations. Each team has overcome enormous challenges to reach this stage, and only one will earn the right to compete at Men's Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia.
"With Dubai set to host what promises to be an exciting and fiercely contested event, the Final Qualification Tournament embodies the global growth and inclusivity at the heart of our sport."