Russia will continue their preparations for next year's World Cup by hosting the Confederations Cup this summer.

The eight-team tournament is held the year before each World Cup to give the host country an opportunity to test their facilities and provisions ahead of the main event.

It features the champions of each confederation - decided through competitions such as the European Championship and Copa America - as well as the World Cup hosts and the reigning world champions.

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That means a few stars will be on show at four of the Russian stadiums that will hold World Cup matches next year, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, and Alexis Sanchez and Chile travelling east for the tournament.

The Confederations Cup kicked offon June 17 and we have all the details you need to know.

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In the UK, the tournament will be available to watch live on television on ITV and ITV 4, with games split between the two channels. It can also be streamed via ITV Player.

UK TV channel	Online stream
ITV / ITV 4	ITV Player

In the US, the tournament will be available to watch live on television on Fox Sports, with games split between FS1 and FS2. It can also be streamed via Fox Soccer 2Go.

US TV channel	Online stream
FS1 / FS2	Fox Soccer 2Go

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Group A:

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Russia (hosts)	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	3
2	Mexico (CONCACAF)	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	1
3	Portugal (UEFA)	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	1
4	New Zealand (OFC)	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2	0

Group B:

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Chile (CONMEBOL)	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	3
2	Germany (world champions)	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1	3
3	Australia (AFC)	1	0	0	1	2	3	-1	0
4	Cameroon (CAF)	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2	0

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Group A:

Date	Match	Time (local / BST)
June 17	Russia 2-0 New Zealand	18:00 / 16:00
June 18	Portugal 2-2 Mexico	18:00 / 16:00
June 21	Russia vs Portugal	18:00 / 16:00
June 21	Mexico vs New Zealand	21:00 / 19:00
June 24	Mexico vs Russia	18:00 / 16:00
June 24	New Zealand vs Portugal	18:00 / 16:00

Group B:

Date	Match	Time (local / BST)
June 18	Cameroon 0-2 Chile	21:00 / 19:00
June 19	Australia 2-3 Germany	18:00 / 16:00
June 22	Cameroon vs Australia	18:00 / 16:00
June 22	Germany vs Chile	21:00 / 19:00
June 23	Germany vs Cameroon	18:00 / 16:00
June 23	Chile vs Australia	18:00 / 16:00

Semi-finals:

Date	Match	Time (local / BST)
June 28	Winner Group A vs Runner-up Group B	21:00 / 19:00
Jun 29	Winner Group B vs Runner-up Group A	21:00 / 19:00

Third-place play-off:

Date	Match	Time (local / BST)
July 2	Loser Semi-Final 1 vs Loser Semi-Final 2	15:00 / 13:00

Final:

Date	Match	Time (local / BST)
July 2	Winner Semi-Final 1 vs Winner Semi-Final 2	21:00 / 19:00

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Spartak Stadium:

City:Moscow

Capacity:45,360

Usually known as the Otkritie Arena, this is, as its Confederations Cup name suggests, the home of Spartak Moscow and was opened in 2014. It will host the third-place play-off as well as three group games.

Kazan Arena:

City:Kazan
Capacity:45,379

Rubin Kazan moved out of their old, multipurpose Central Stadium to the new Kazan Arena in 2013. It is notable for having the largest outside screen in Europe, running across one stand's entire outer wall and will host a semi-final and three group games.

Fisht Stadium:

City:Sochi
Capacity:47,659

The Fisht Stadium was originally built for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2014 as an enclosed, indoor arena. To make use of it for another couple of tournaments, it has been converted into an open-air football stadium and will host a semi-final and three group-stage games at the Confederations Cup.

Saint Petersburg Stadium:

City:Saint Petersburg
Capacity:68,134

If you thought Russia's stadium construction seemed to be going much more smoothly than Brazil's in 2014 you must not have heard of Zenit's new Krestovsky Stadium. It is about nine years late and massively overbudget, but at least the finished product is impressive. It will host the Confederations Cup final and three group-stage games.

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A long season with his club has not putCristiano Ronaldooff this tournament; the reigning Ballon d'Or winner has been selected by Fernando Santos and will play for European champions Portugal.

Ronaldo is part of a strong squad that also includesPepe,Bernardo SilvaandRaphael Guerreiro. In fact, only two members of their starting XI for the Euro 2016 final will miss this tournament; Joao Mario, who is injured, and Renato Sanches, who will play at the European Under-21 Championship instead.

Chile are also bringing their two stars in Arsenal forwardAlexis Sanchezand Bayern Munich enforcerArturo Vidal, while Manchester City goalkeeperClaudio Bravowill hope to rediscover his best form as the national team's captain.

This is the fourth summer in a row in which La Roja have played in a tournament, and they are unlikely to get a break until 2020.

Whereas Chile will attempt to plough through their busy schedule, though, Germany boss Joachim Low has given most of his stars the summer off. The inexperience of Germany's squad is illustrated by the fact that it will be captained by 23-year-oldJulian Draxler, withJoshua Kimmich,Leroy SaneandShkodran Mustafithe other stand-out names.

Mexico, withRafael Marquezstill going strong andJavier Hernandezleading the line, could be a dark horse but hosts Russia have endured a nightmarish year and are lacking an influx of young talent beyondAleksey MiranchukandAleksandr Golovin.

If he plays in the pre-tournament friendly against Brazil, meanwhile,Tim Cahillwill be in line to earn his 100th cap for Australia in the third game of the group stage.

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Before the tournament Germany werethe favourites to win the tournament at around 9/4, but given the experimental nature of the world champions' squad and their mixed opening game performance, they now sit at around 5/2.Portugal and Chile, both of whom have plenty of experience in their ranks, may be more tempting at around 11/4and 5/2respectively.

Russia and Mexico are rated at around the 10/1 mark, and Camerooncome in between 20/1 and 40/1. After losing to Germany, Australia have slipped to between 66/1 and 100/1. New Zealand, meanwhile, are the outsiders and can be backed at 500/1.