World Cup Qualifying Tournament Europe 11 June. Qualifications - how they happen
The qualification tournament for the World Cup in Russia began in Europe in September 2016, and will end with playoff fights for the right to get to the World Cup in the fall of 2017, just before.
The 2018 World Cup qualifiers in each of the nine groups have a standard form, after the inclusion of Gibraltar and Kosovo in the UEFA, it has become very convenient to disperse the teams into 9 groups of 6 teams.
However, there is one feature related specifically to the qualification for the World Cup - FIFA allocates Europe 13 vouchers, which means that 9 winners of the qualifying groups and 4 teams that have become the best in the playoffs will receive them. But only 8 teams that took second places will be able to get into the playoffs, and the worst of 9 will be left out of the relegation matches. That is why there is another additional table for the teams that took second place, which takes into account not only the points scored, but also the difference between goals scored / conceded and more goals scored - if necessary.
Each group will play 10 matches, each with each at home and away. The first part of the World Cup qualification in Europe should close in early October, and the playoff matches are tentatively scheduled for November 9-11 (first fights) and November 12-14, after which the owners of all 14 tickets to the Championship from Europe will be known (Russia has already received one as the host of the World Cup).
Qualifying for the 2018 World Cup: standings and position of teams in groups
If we evaluate the situation in the European qualification for the World Championship after 6 rounds, before the decisive autumn segment, it turns out that a number of giants are in a difficult position. Particularly in group A Sweden is in the lead, but France and the Netherlands are following, and with a high probability they may not play at the 2018 World Cup. For Holland, which missed Euro 2016, this situation will be a disaster, and Russian stadiums will be bored without bright Dutch fans.
IN group In the standings, Switzerland and Portugal are set to fight for the first place with good chances for the Crusaders, who are 3 points ahead of the European champions. IN group C everything is clear and understandable - Germany is confidently the first, but Northern Ireland, which played with the Germans in the same group and at Euro 2016, is second with a good margin from the Czech Republic.
IN group D it's all confusing - Serbia and Ireland are four points ahead of Wales and Austria, but things could still change after . Leaderboard group E speaks of a big advantage here in Poland - so that the security authorities at the championship can prepare for the arrival of troubled Polish fans in Russia. Other "troublemakers" will not go anywhere - the British, who lead group F, where those who offended the Russian team in last years Slovakia and Slovenia.
The denouement will be very interesting group G, where in standings Italy and Spain scored 16 points each, but group H Belgium is in the lead, while Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina are fighting for the second place. And, finally, in the most even team selection group I, where four participants in the final part of Euro 2016 are gathered at once (two of which played in the playoffs), nothing is clear at all - Croatia and Iceland have 13 points each, Ukraine and Turkey - 11 points each. Everything will be decided here in the fall, and it is very difficult to predict something.
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On the eve of the start of the FIFA World Cup, we decided to refresh the memories of fans of this sport regarding how the selection of European teams for the World Cup 2018 took place.
Teams not only from Europe will take part in the most prestigious international football tournament. There will be representatives of South and North America, Africa and Asia. Despite the fact that the results of the teams of Brazil, Argentina, the USA and others on the way to the Mundial were of interest to football fans, Special attention was riveted precisely to the European qualifying matches. Therefore, we believe that it would not be superfluous to recall exactly how the participating teams World Cup 2018 came to Russia.
General information
It so happened historically that the European teams always represent the largest group of teams fighting for the right to enter the World Cup. In qualification for the Mundial 2018 took part 54 European football teams. After they formed 9 groups of 6 teams.
Total FIFA gives Europe 14 places in World Cup finals.
- 9 teams get into the final part automatically, taking the first places in the qualifying groups.
- 4 teams advance to the finals by winning the play-offs.
- Russia, as the host country of the World Cup, gets into the final part automatically.
The group stage implies that the teams must play each other in two matches (one at home, one away) - a total of 10 matches. Based on the results of these meetings, the winners of the groups will be determined, as well as the teams that will take second places.
In the event that two teams score the same number of points at the end of the group matches, the first team will be the team with the best difference between goals scored and conceded.
If everything is clear with the group winning teams - they directly qualify for the World Championship, then the teams that will take second places will have to play play-offs. The opponents of the play-offs are determined by a draw. By the way, only 8 teams will play the play-offs, the 9th team, which scored the least points among the representatives of the second places, is automatically eliminated from the qualification.
European Championship Qualifiers 2018
Earlier we mentioned that by blind draw all 54 European teams were divided into 9 groups of 6 teams each. Below we will dwell on each group in detail, talking about the favorites, underdogs and unexpected results. So, let's begin.
Group A
| № | Team | matches | victories | draws | defeat | zab | missed | glasses |
| 1 | France | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 6 | 23 |
| 2 | Sweden | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 26 | 9 | 19 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 12 | 19 |
| 4 | Bulgaria | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 13 |
| 5 | Luxembourg | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 26 | 6 |
| 6 | Belarus | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 21 | 5 |
Group favourites: France, the Netherlands.
Who can impose a fight: Sweden, Bulgaria.
Outsiders of the group: Belarus, Luxembourg.
There were no sensations in group A. The French team predicted won first place in the group. Failures in matches with Belarus and Luxembourg, as well as a defeat against Sweden, could not prevent the finalists of Euro 2016 from qualifying for the Mundial.
Unexpectedly, the second place in the group, and with it a ticket to the play-offs, was won by the Swedish team. Having scored the same number of points with the Netherlands team, the Swedes were able to get into the play-offs due to the better difference between goals scored and conceded. The cunning Swedes devastatingly beat Luxembourg (8:0), which allowed them to leave the country of tulips and legal drugs out of the World Cup.
Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Belarus, although they gave out several quality matches each, still predictably took places from third to sixth in the standings.
Group B
| № | Team | matches | victories | draws | defeat | zab | missed | glasses |
| 1 | Portugal | 10 | 9 | 1 | 32 | 4 | 27 | |
| 2 | Switzerland | 10 | 9 | 1 | 23 | 7 | 27 | |
| 3 | Hungary | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
| 4 | Faroe islands | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 9 |
| 5 | Latvia | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 7 |
| 6 | Andorra | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 23 | 4 |
Group favourites: Portugal, Switzerland.
Who can impose a fight: Hungary.
Outsiders of the group: Andorra, Faroe Islands, Latvia.
For the winners Euro 2016 got one of the easiest groups. It was enough for Ronaldo and the company to beat the Swiss national team in order to stake out the first place in the group, and, as a result, get a ticket to participate in the 2018 World Cup. But it was not so easy to do this. The Portuguese were able to get into Russia only thanks to the better difference between goals scored and conceded.
Representatives of the country of cheese, banks and watches showed excellent results in the qualifying matches, losing only to the national team of Portugal, so they rightfully won the second place in the group, and with it the opportunity to compete for a ticket to the World Cup in the play-offs.
Hungary, the Faroe Islands, Latvia and Andorra are projected to rank fourth through sixth. Despite the fact that the Hungarian squad could present unpleasant surprises to the leaders of the group, now the team is in the process of restructuring, so the third place for it is a natural result.
Group C
| № | Team | matches | victories | draws | defeat | zab | missed | glasses |
| 1 | Germany | 10 | 10 | 43 | 4 | 30 | ||
| 2 | Northern Ireland | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 6 | 19 |
| 3 | Czech | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 10 | 15 |
| 4 | Norway | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 16 | 13 |
| 5 | Azerbaijan | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 19 | 10 |
| 6 | San Marino | 10 | 10 | 2 | 51 |
Group favourites: Germany.
Who can impose a fight: Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway.
Outsiders of the group: San Marino, Azerbaijan.
Germany was the undisputed favorite of Group C. Lev's wards fully justified their status, gaining 10 wins in 10 matches, which allowed World Champions win a ticket to the Mundial ahead of schedule.
But for the second place in the group, which makes it possible to try their luck in the play-offs, the struggle unfolded between the teams of Northern Ireland, the Czech Republic and Norway. More successful in this fight were the players of Northern Ireland. Having made noise at Euro 2016, they will try to repeat their success at the World Cup, if, of course, they manage to win the playoffs.
Azerbaijan and San Marino took the last places in the group. San Marino confirmed the status of the "donor" of points to stronger teams, the team did not achieve a single victory, with a goal difference of 2-51.
Group D
| № | Team | matches | victories | draws | defeat | zab | missed | glasses |
| 1 | Serbia | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 10 | 21 |
| 2 | Ireland | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 19 |
| 3 | Wales | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 17 |
| 4 | Austria | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 15 |
| 5 | Georgia | 10 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 5 | |
| 6 | Moldova | 10 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 23 | 2 |
Group favourites: Austria, Wales.
Who can impose a fight: Serbia. Ireland.
Outsiders of the group: Moldova, Georgia.
In principle, group D turned out to be more or less even, that is, here four teams at once had good chances to qualify for the World Championship from the first place. It should be noted that the struggle for tickets to Russia did not stop until the last round, in which the Wales team sensationally lost to the Irish at home, and missed them in second place, thereby allowing them to take part in the play-offs.
The Serbian national team had a surprisingly organized and collected match in the qualifying round, which allowed it to directly get to the World Cup. At the same time, Austria and Wales were unexpectedly left out of the competition, once again confirming that their game is highly dependent on the form and presence of the main stars: Gareth Bale and David Alaba.
Georgia and Moldova traditionally fought for national prestige, the Georgian team was more successful in this, which eventually took the honorable penultimate place in the group.
Group E
| № | Team | matches | victories | draws | defeat | zab | missed | glasses |
| 1 | Poland | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 14 | 25 |
| 2 | Denmark | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 8 | 20 |
| 3 | Montenegro | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 14 | 16 |
| 4 | Romania | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 13 |
| 5 | Armenia | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 26 | 7 |
| 6 | Kazakhstan | 10 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 26 | 3 |
Group favourites: Poland, Denmark.
Who can impose a fight: Montenegro.
Outsiders of the group: Kazakhstan, Armenia, Romania.
The Polish national team predictably won first place in Group E. Recall that following the results of the qualifying round, striker of the Polish national team and Bayern Munich Robert Lewandowski became top scorer, scoring 16 goals against opponents.
The second place was taken by the Danish team. Kasper Schmeichel looked reliable at the last frontier of the team (apparently, genes affect), which is why Denmark conceded the least in the group. The points scored were enough to take part in the play-offs. So, the Danes may well record the current selection as an asset.
Montenegro and Romania looked worthy in the qualifying matches, but still let better rivals go ahead. Considering their results in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, these teams are a tough nut to crack and could cause a lot of trouble in the future if they are underestimated.
Armenia and Kazakhstan played at the usual level, so they took the corresponding places - fifth and sixth.
Group F
| № | Team | matches | victories | draws | defeat | zab | missed | glasses |
| 1 | England | 10 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 3 | 26 | |
| 2 | Slovakia | 10 | 6 | 4 | 17 | 7 | 18 | |
| 3 | Scotland | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 18 |
| 4 | Slovenia | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 15 |
| 5 | Lithuania | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 20 | 6 |
| 6 | Malta | 10 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 25 | 1 |
Group favourites: England, Slovakia.
Who can impose a fight: Slovenia, Scotland.
Outsiders of the group: Malta, Lithuania.
The British got a very difficult group, since here Scotland with its historical "offense", Slovenia and Slovakia did not pull on the role of "whipping boys". However, the founders of football coped, and even against the backdrop of a change of generations, they were able to secure a ticket to Russia ahead of schedule.
The battle for second place in the group was dramatic and tense. Immediately three teams were eager to get into the play-offs. In the end, no one got there. Slovakia and Scotland, having scored the same number of points, determined the lucky one who will play in the play-offs by calculating the difference between goals scored and conceded. It was better for the Slovaks. However, looking ahead, Slovakia scored the least points among the teams that took second place in the groups, which automatically made them the "fifth leg" of the hare, and the team was left out of the World Cup (perhaps the Scots used some of their ancient spell). Slovenia showed good preparation, but the team lacked experience and luck in some matches, but in general, the Slovenes left a good impression.
Lithuania and Malta predictably closed the group.
Group G
| № | Team | matches | victories | draws | defeat | zab | missed | glasses |
| 1 | Spain | 10 | 9 | 1 | 36 | 3 | 28 | |
| 2 | Italy | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 8 | 23 |
| 3 | Albania | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 13 | 13 |
| 5 | Israel | 10 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 12 | |
| 6 | Macedonia | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 11 |
| 7 | Liechtenstein | 10 | 10 | 1 | 39 |
Group favourites: Spain, Italy.
Who can impose a fight: nobody.
Outsiders of the group: Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Israel, Albania.
On the one hand, it may seem that the national teams of Spain and Italy were lucky, they came across a group with not the strongest opponents. In fact, in order to get to the Mundial from the first place, the teams had to give everything in two matches between themselves. And so it happened, the result of the first match between these teams became decisive in the course of the entire qualifying round. Spain quite easily beat Buffon and the company with a score of 3:0, and quietly won a ticket to the Mundial. The Italians were modestly satisfied with the second place in the group, leaving the decision on participation in the World Championship for later (play-offs).
Albania, Israel, Macedonia and Liechtenstein were doomed in advance to fight only for prestige, which they did with varying degrees of success. As a result, they distributed among themselves places from the fourth to the sixth.
Group H
| № | Team | matches | victories | draws | defeat | zab | missed | glasses |
| 1 | Belgium | 10 | 9 | 1 | 43 | 6 | 28 | |
| 2 | Greece | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 6 | 19 |
| 3 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 13 | 17 |
| 4 | Estonia | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 11 |
| 5 | Cyprus | 10 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 10 |
| 6 | Gibraltar | 10 | 10 | 3 | 47 |
Group favourites: Belgium.
Who can impose a fight: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece.
Outsiders of the group: Estonia, Cyprus, Gibraltar.
The ever-promising Belgian team was the favorite in Group H. And the Belgians won the first place quite easily. The difference between goals scored and conceded in qualifying speaks for itself - 43:6. So, Belgium deservedly gets a ticket to Russia.
The fight for second place in the group was dramatic. It was claimed by Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece. Luck was on the side of the Greeks, who were only two points ahead of the Bosnians, which allowed them to finish second and take part in the play-offs.
Estonia, Cyprus and Gibraltar were in the top three losers. Although, the main loser of the group can be called the Gibraltar team, in the column of points - 0, and in the column of goals conceded - 47, only four more than the Belgian team scored in the entire selection.
Group favourites: Croatia, Ukraine.
Who can impose a fight: Iceland, Türkiye.
Outsiders of the group: Kosovo, Finland.
Another group in which four teams at once claimed a ticket to the Mundial from the first place. The Croatian team was the favorite in this fight. But Modric and company made it so difficult for themselves that they could only qualify for the play-offs in last round, having beaten the national team of Ukraine in an away match. The home team also had a chance to travel to Russia (although they promised to boycott the World Championship from the start of the selection), for this they needed to defeat the Croats at home. But class is class, and the Croats took second place, leaving the Ukrainians, led by Shevchenko, out of the World Championship.
Iceland continued to amaze in flopping matches, their success in Group I is the answer to all critics that the successful performance of the Icelandic squad at Euro 2016 is nothing more than an accident. The team was confidently leading during the qualifying round, which earned them a direct ticket to the Mundial.
The long-suffering Mircea Lucescu and his Turkish team took fourth place in the selection. The Turks showed torn results, the team clearly lacked stability.
Finland played in its own style, pushing against all the teams in the group, but the Finns clearly lack the skill to claim something more.
The national team of Kosovo took part in the qualifying round for the first time. At times the team looked good, and in some matches the team's performance was terrible. By the way, in the match between Kosovo and Croatia, the shadow of an “agreement” flashed, and in some games of this team there were moments that raised questions about the contractual nature of the game. But the scandal was not allowed to break out. As a result, the debut of Kosovo turned out to be more successful than the performances of the teams of San Marino and Gibraltar.
Afterword
As a result of the qualifying round, there were no sensations. All those who demonstrate high level football, predictably selected for the Mundial from the first places of their groups. Teams that took second place will compete for four tickets to come to Russia.
It is possible that the World Cup will lose something without the Netherlands, Ukraine, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Wales and Austria, and perhaps not. After all, all those who took first places in their groups are the strongest European teams based on the results of the 2018 World Cup qualification, so we can safely say that they will continue to demonstrate their bright football in the final stage of the Mundial, and this is the most important thing.
All those who were left out of the 2018 World Cup should draw the appropriate conclusions, improve their game, invite new players or coaches. In general, there is still time before the start of the next qualifying round, and it must be used as productively as possible.
On July 25, 2015, the preliminary draw took place in St. Petersburg, the northern capital of Russia World Cup 2018 football in Russia. During the draw, the main groups and schemes of qualifying tournaments by continent were determined.
So, representatives of the Football Confederation of North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) and Asia (AFC), as well as teams from Oceania (OFC) and South America(CONMEBOL).
AFRICA
Qualifying round for the 2018 World Cup in the "Africa" zone
On the African continent, the right to compete for reaching the final World Cup 2018 received 53 teams, which, after going through two preliminary rounds, will advance to the final group tournament with the participation of 20 teams.
Preliminary rounds:
South Sudan/Mauritania - Tunisia
Gambia/Namibia - Guinea
Chad/Sierra Leone - Egypt
Sao Tome and Principe/Ethiopia - Congo
Djibouti/Swaziland - Nigeria
Eritrea/Botswana - Mali
Somalia/Niger - Cameroon
Comoros/Lesotho - Ghana
Liberia/Guinea-Bissau - Ivory Coast
Mauritius/Kenya - Cape Verde
Tanzania/Malawi - Algiers
Seychelles/Burundi - DR Congo
Central African Republic/Madagascar - Senegal
Sudan - Zambia
Libya - Rwanda
Morocco - Equatorial Guinea
Mozambique - Gabon
Benin - Burkina Faso
Togo - Uganda
Angola - South Africa
You can always find out the current position of the teams and the most detailed statistics in the qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup in the "Africa" zone on the largest sports news portal in Russia and the best website for football statistics.
OCEANIA
Qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup in the Oceania zone
qualifying tournament for World Cup 2018 in the Oceania zone has already reached the final, third stage of qualification.
At the third stage, a two-round tournament will be held in two groups of three teams. This the tournament will take place from November 2016 to June 2017. Group winners will play each other according to the "home and away" system. The top team will play play-offs against the fifth-place team from South America in the qualifiers for qualification to the World Cup.
The draw for the third stage took place on July 8, 2016 at the OFC headquarters in Auckland ( New Zealand).
Among the representatives of the Football Confederation of North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF), six teams will be determined during the third round, which will join six other teams in group tournament.
The teams that take the first two places in their quartets will advance to the fifth round of qualification.
You can always find out the current position of the teams and the most detailed statistics in the qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup in the Oceania zone on the largest sports news portal in Russia and the best website for football statistics.
CONCACAF
Qualifying round for the 2018 World Cup in the CONCACAF zone
The final round will be a two-round tournament involving six teams. The top three teams directly go to the final of the World Cup, the fourth team will play play-offs with the representative of the Asian Confederation (AFC).
Group A: Mexico, Honduras, Curaçao/El Salvador, Canada/Belize;
Group B: Costa Rica, Panama, Grenada/Haiti, Jamaica/Nicaragua;
Group C: United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines/Aruba, Antigua and Barbuda/Guatemala.
You can always find out the current position of the teams and the most detailed statistics in the qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup in the CONCACAF zone on the largest sports news portal in Russia and the best website for football statistics.
ASIA
Qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup in the "Asia" zone
The Asia Qualifier format consists of four rounds:
- First round: The 12 worst teams (according to the FIFA rankings) are paired up according to a draw and play two matches against each other on their own field and on the opponent's field. 6 winners advance to the second round.
- Second round: 6 winners of the first round and the remaining 34 Asian teams are divided into 8 groups according to the lot, within which a traditional two-round tournament is held. The eight group winners and the top four runners-up advance to the third round and simultaneously qualify for the final tournament Asian Cup 2019 (the remaining 11 places in the Asian Cup are played in an additional group tournament not related to the qualification for the World Cup).
- Third round: 12 teams that passed from the second round are divided by lot into 2 groups, within which a two-round tournament is held. The top two teams from each group advance directly to the final tournament of the World Cup, while the third-placed teams advance to the fourth round.
- Fourth round: The two teams that finished third in the groups in the third round play traditional home-and-away play-offs against each other. The winner on the sum of two meetings will participate in the playoffs with a representative of another football confederation by decision of FIFA.
You can always find out the current position of the teams and the most detailed statistics in the qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup in the "ASIA" zone on the largest sports news portal in Russia and the best website for football statistics.
CONMEBOL
Qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup in the CONMEBOL zone
Qualifying Tournament FIFA World Cup 2018 in South America will determine the participants of the 2018 World Cup in Russia from the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). Unless otherwise decided, South America will be given four places in the Championship and one more team will compete for the right to participate in the play-offs with a representative of another continent (in this case, with the representative of the Oceania Football Confederation).
Among the teams from South America (CONMEBOL), ten teams will take part in the qualification, included in one group. Matches will be held in two rounds: teams will play each other in two matches - at home and away.
The four best teams will receive tickets to the World Cup, and the fifth-place team will be eligible to play in the intercontinental play-offs with the representative of Oceania (OFC).
You can always find out the current position of the teams and the most detailed statistics in the qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup in the CONMEBOL zone on the largest sports news portal in Russia and the best website for football statistics.
EUROPE
The composition of the qualifying groups for the 2018 World Cup in the zone "Europe"
Among the teams belonging to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), seven groups of six teams each and two groups of five teams each were formed from all teams.
Matches will be held in two rounds: teams will play each other in two matches - at home and away.
Nine group winners qualify for World Cup 2018 directly. The top eight teams from the teams that took second place in their groups will play play-offs in November 2017, following which the four winners will receive tickets to the 2018 World Championship.
Group A: Netherlands, France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg
Group B: Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra
Group C: Germany, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway, Azerbaijan, San Marino
Group D: Wales, Austria, Serbia, Ireland, Moldova, Georgia
Group E: Romania, Denmark, Poland, Montenegro, Armenia, Kazakhstan
Group F: England, Slovakia, Scotland, Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta
Group G: Spain, Italy, Albania, Israel, Macedonia, Liechtenstein
Group H: Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus
Group I: Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Türkiye, Finland
Russia, as the host country of the 2018 World Cup, received the right to participate in the final stage automatically.
You can always find out the current position of the teams and the most detailed statistics in the qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup in the EUROPE zone on the largest sports news portal in Russia and the best
The 21st FIFA World Cup is scheduled from June 14, 2018 to July 15, 2018 in Russia. There are 32 teams in the tournament, which include Russia and the other 31 teams that have topped the qualifiers. The 6 FIFA confederations have organized a series of tournaments to select the candidates who will participate in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. FIFA confederations held tournaments in their regions - in Europe, Asia, South America, North America, Africa and Oceania.
Qualifications - how they happen
The qualification process for the 2018 FIFA World Cup consisted of a series of tournaments in which all 210 FIFA member countries could participate. These tournaments were organized by the six FIFA confederations and 31 of the 32 countries selected for the 2018 FIFA World Cup were the winners. The 32nd country, Russia, is the host nation and qualifies automatically without having to participate in qualifying matches. The schedules for the qualifying rounds were determined by lot.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers were exciting as the teams registered for the qualifiers were incredibly strong and determined. Several countries such as Bhutan, Gibraltar, Kosovo and South Sudan participated in this event for the first time. However, Indonesia and Zimbabwe were disqualified from the tournaments for various reasons.
Regions
The six FIFA confederations are the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the South American Football Federation (CONMEBOL), the Confederation of the Football Federation of North, Central America and the Caribbean (KONCACAF), the Confederation African football(CAF) and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC).
The Confederation of African Football, a member of FIFA, holds a preliminary competition for the five allocated places. Five-place teams: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Mali, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Chad, Comoros, Sudan, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Mauritania, Mar Okko, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda. Only Zimbabwe, among the 54 African Football Confederation member states, could not participate as the Zimbabwe Football Union was suspended for failing to pay unemployment benefits former coach national team.
Qualifying matches were held in three rounds. All teams competed in the first two rounds, from which the winners entered the third round. The third round was divided into five groups, with the winners of each group claiming to represent Africa at the World Cup in Russia. The five African countries that have qualified are Tunisia, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal and Egypt.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has 4.5 seats, four seats and one for the playoffs among the two continents.
46 member countries of the AFC participated in the qualifying tournaments, and the matches lasted more than five rounds. The AFC itself is a conglomerate of many football federations. The West Asian Federation consists of: Iraq, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates. The Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) consists of: Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) consists of: India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) consists of China, Hong Kong, Macau, Chinese Taipei, Guam, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) consists of: Australia, Cambodia, Vietnam, East Timor, Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.
The 12 lowest ranked teams entered the first round. The top six teams advanced to the next round, which was joined by the next 34 lowest ranked teams. As a result, 40 teams were divided into eight groups of five teams each to play round robin matches. Eight winners qualified for the third round and also qualified for the 2019 Asian Cup Final.
In the third round, eight teams joined the top two teams. The teams were divided into two groups, each of which consisted of six teams. The top two teams in each group qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The two teams fighting for third place advanced to the fourth round.
In the fourth round, the two third-place teams battled it out in three rounds, with the winner advancing to the Intercontinental Playoffs.
Iran, South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Australia qualified for the Intercontinental, and also qualified for the World Cup by defeating Honduras.
The 54 members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), FIFA's confederation, were divided into nine groups of six teams each, and all teams played matches against each other in a round robin to qualify for 13 places in the group stages. UEFA has a total of fourteen places for the World Cup, but Russia, as the host nation, automatically qualifies. In addition, the top eight runners-up also advance to the next round. New Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales. Among them, France, Portugal, Germany, Serbia, Poland, England, Spain, Belgium and Iceland topped nine groups and qualified directly for the World Cup. Among the runners-up, Croatia, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland won the play-off and qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Among the teams participating in the qualifiers, Iceland passed this stage for the first time. Qualifiers were played from November 9, 2017 to November 11, 2017 and from November 12, 2017 to November 14, 2017
CONCACAF has 3.5 places, which means three places for classification and one for the playoffs. The Member States of CONCACAF are: United States of America, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica, Belize, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Bahamas, Bermuda, Panama, Anguilla, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Purto Rico, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Grenada, Dom Inican Republic, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Jamaica, Haiti, Martinique, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Saint Lucia, Saint Maarten, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States Virgin Islands.
There were five rounds in the extensive qualifying tournaments run by CONCACAF. The first three rounds were played in a playoff format, while the fourth and final round were in group form. In the first round, the 14 lowest ranked teams played each other at home and away. The top seven teams joined eleven other teams in the next round, which was in the same format. The top ten teams advanced to the third round, where they were joined by the other two teams that were higher in the rankings. Twelve teams repeated the selection again and the top six teams advanced to the fourth round.
In the fourth round, the six teams were joined by another six who qualified in the third round. The six teams or top two teams in each group advanced to the fifth and final round.
in the fifth and last round, six teams competed with each other in two matches: one at home and the other away from the opponent. The top three teams qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The fourth team went on to play in the playoffs with the Oceania group.
Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama, among the top three teams, qualified for the championship in Russia. A fourth team, Honduras, played in the qualifiers against Australia but lost.
An interesting fact about the CONCACAF qualifiers is that the United States did not qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986, while Panama, on the contrary, participates in the World Cup for the first time.
CONMEBOL, the South American Football Federation and the FIFA affiliate also host FIFA World Cup qualification. The qualifiers for FIFA 2018 consisted of double round robin matches played over nine matches of two rounds. Each team plays twice in each round, with one home and one away match.
The ten member states of CONMEBOL are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the preliminary stage has four and a half places for South America. While Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina qualified through the pre-qualifiers, Peru qualified after beating New Zealand for the Intercontinental Playoffs.
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), an affiliate of FIFA, hosts FIFA World Cup qualification. For thirteen participants, OFC allocates only 0.5 places or an international playoff.
The thirteen members are New Zealand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, American Samoa, Cook Island, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, French Polynesia Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Notably, Australia is not in the OFC. In 2006, the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) left the OFC and became a member of the Asian Football Confederation.
The tournament is held in three rounds. The first round, which was played in a round robin format, featured the top four ranked teams: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga, with the winner advancing to the second round.
The winner of the first round joined seven other teams: Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu. This round had four teams in each group. Three the best teams from each match advanced to the third round.
The six teams advancing from the second round were divided into two groups of three teams. The two groups played two matches, with the winner advancing to the playoffs with Peru.
