2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

The European section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Russia, for national teams that are members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Apart from Russia, who qualified automatically as hosts, a total of 13 slots in the final tournament were available for UEFA teams.[1]

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
Tournament details
Dates4 September 2016 – 14 November 2017
Teams54 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played278
Goals scored807 (2.9 per match)
Attendance5,866,771 (21,103 per match)
Top scorer(s)Poland Robert Lewandowski (16 goals)
2014
2022

The qualifying format was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee meeting on 22–23 March 2015 in Vienna.[2][3]

The qualification process started on 4 September 2016, almost two months after UEFA Euro 2016, and ended on 14 November 2017.Belgium, England, France, Germany, Iceland (for the first time), Poland, Portugal, Serbia, and Spain qualified in the first round by winning their groups. Croatia, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland qualified by winning their playoffs.

Four-time champions Italy did not qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, missing out on qualification for the first time since 1958 after losing in the playoffs to Sweden,[4] while the three-time FIFA World Cup runners-up Netherlands did not qualify for the tournament for the first time since 2002 after finishing third in 2014,[5] and second in 2010. Iceland, with 335,000 inhabitants, became the smallest country ever to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.[6]

Entrantsedit

Apart from Russia, which qualified automatically as hosts, all remaining 52 FIFA-affiliated national teams from UEFA at the registration deadline of January 2015 entered qualification.[7]

Gibraltar, despite being a UEFA member since 2013, was not a FIFA member at the time of the registration deadline, and thus was not eligible to enter qualification for the FIFA World Cup. They appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge FIFA's refusal to grant membership in order to enter World Cup qualifying.[8] In May 2016, the CAS found in Gibraltar's favour and ordered that FIFA put Gibraltar forward for FIFA membership, which would permit Gibraltar to take part in the qualifiers if membership was granted.[9]

Kosovo became a UEFA member on 3 May 2016, and together with Gibraltar, applied for membership in the FIFA Congress in 12–13 May 2016. FIFA confirmed that in the case both associations succeeded in becoming a member, they would be entitled to participate in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, with UEFA tasked to integrate them into the competition.[10]

On 13 May 2016, both Kosovo and Gibraltar were officially admitted as FIFA members, thus allowing them to compete.[11] UEFA created a task force to discuss how to integrate the two teams into the competition,[12] and on 9 June 2016 UEFA announced that Kosovo would be assigned to Group I, to avoid meeting Bosnia and Herzegovina for security reasons, and Gibraltar would play in Group H.[13][14]

Formatedit

The qualification structure was as follows:[3][15]

  • First round (group stage): 54 teams were divided into nine groups of six teams each to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The winners of each group qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the eight best runners-up advanced to the second round (play-offs).
  • Second round (play-offs): Eight best runners-up from the first round played against one other team over two legs, home and away. The draw for these matches was held on 17 October 2017. The first legs were played on 9–11 November, and the second legs were played on 12–14 November 2017. The winners of each tie qualified for the World Cup.

Qualifying matches started in September 2016, following UEFA Euro 2016, and finished in November 2017.[3][16]

RoundMatchdayDate
First round
(group stage)
Matchday 14–6 September 2016
Matchday 26–8 October 2016
Matchday 39–11 October 2016
Matchday 411–13 November 2016
Matchday 524–26 March 2017
Matchday 69–11 June 2017
Matchday 731 August – 2 September 2017
Matchday 83–5 September 2017
Matchday 95–7 October 2017
Matchday 108–10 October 2017
RoundMatchdayDate
Second round
(play-offs)
First leg9–11 November 2017
Second leg12–14 November 2017

The scheduling of qualifying matches, which were centralised by UEFA, followed the "Week of Football" concept first used for UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying:[17]

  • Matches take place from Thursday to Tuesday.
  • Kick-off times are largely set at 18:00 and 20:45 CET/CEST on Saturdays and Sundays, and 20:45 CET/CEST on Thursdays, Fridays, Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • On double-header matchweeks, teams play on Thursday and Sunday, or Friday and Monday, or Saturday and Tuesday.
  • Matches in the same group are played on the same day.

The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 26 July 2015, the day following the draw.[16][18]

First roundedit

Seedingedit

The draw for the first round (group stage) occurred as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.[16][19]

The seeding was based on the July 2015 FIFA World Rankings.[20] The 52 teams were seeded into six pots:

  • Pot 1 contains the teams ranked 1–9.
  • Pot 2 contains the teams ranked 10–18.
  • Pot 3 contains the teams ranked 19–27.
  • Pot 4 contains the teams ranked 28–36.
  • Pot 5 contains the teams ranked 37–45.
  • Pot 6 contains the teams ranked 46–52.

Each six-team group contained one team from each of the six pots, while each five-team group contained one team from each of the first five pots.[16]

Due to the centralisation of media rights for European qualifiers, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands were all drawn into six-team groups. Netherlands and France were drawn together in Group A, and Spain and Italy were drawn together in Group G.[16]

In consideration of the political relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, UEFA requested that FIFA maintain the current UEFA policy not to draw these teams into the same qualification groups (since the two teams were in the same seeding pot, this would not have happened regardless of the request).[16]

Pot 1
TeamRank
 Germany2
 Belgium3
 Netherlands5
 Portugal7
 Romania8
 England9
 Wales10
 Spain12
 Croatia14
Pot 2
TeamRank
 Slovakia15
 Austria15
 Italy17
  Switzerland18
 Czech Republic20
 France22
 Iceland23
 Denmark24
 Bosnia and Herzegovina26
Pot 3
TeamRank
 Ukraine27
 Scotland29
 Poland30
 Hungary31
 Sweden33
 Albania36
 Northern Ireland37
 Serbia43
 Greece44
Pot 4
TeamRank
 Turkey48
 Slovenia49
 Israel51
 Republic of Ireland52
 Norway67
 Bulgaria68
 Faroe Islands74
 Montenegro81
 Estonia82
Pot 5
TeamRank
 Cyprus85
 Latvia87
 Armenia89
 Finland90
 Belarus100
 Macedonia105
 Azerbaijan108
 Lithuania110
 Moldova124
Pot 6
TeamRank
 Kazakhstan142
 Luxembourg146
 Liechtenstein147
 Georgia153
 Malta158
 San Marino192
 Andorra202

The football associations of Gibraltar and Kosovo became members of FIFA after the draw had taken place but before any games had been played. It was decided that both would be added to the World Cup qualifying process in Groups H and I, making those groups up to six teams each; due to the disputed political status of Kosovo, for security reasons, it was decided that Kosovo could not play against Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia, which meant Kosovo was added to Group I and Gibraltar to Group H.[13][14][21] Gibraltar and Spain had previously been kept separate from each other in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying as a result of the disputed status of Gibraltar.[22]

The hosts Russia were originally to be partnered with five-team Group H for friendlies.[23] However, with the admission of Kosovo and Gibraltar, all groups were filled to contain six teams and the Russia friendlies against Group H teams were cancelled. UEFA vice-president Hryhoriy Surkis said that the UEFA management would deal with the issue of finding opponents for Russia to play friendlies.[24]

Summaryedit

  Winner of each group qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup
  Other teams were eliminated after the first round
Group AGroup BGroup CGroup DGroup EGroup FGroup GGroup HGroup I

France

Portugal

Germany

Serbia

Poland

England

Spain

Belgium

Iceland

Sweden

Switzerland

Northern Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Denmark

Slovakia

Italy

Greece

Croatia

Netherlands

Bulgaria

Luxembourg

Belarus

Hungary

Faroe Islands

Latvia

Andorra

Czech Republic

Norway

Azerbaijan

San Marino

Wales

Austria

Georgia

Moldova

Montenegro

Romania

Armenia

Kazakhstan

Scotland

Slovenia

Lithuania

Malta

Albania

Israel

Macedonia

Liechtenstein

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Estonia

Cyprus

Gibraltar

Ukraine

Turkey

Finland

Kosovo

Groupsedit

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[25]
  1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
  2. Overall goal difference
  3. Overall goals scored
  4. Points in matches between tied teams
  5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
  6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
  7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie was only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
  8. Fair play points
    • first yellow card: minus 1 point
    • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
    • direct red card: minus 4 points
    • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
  9. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

Group Aedit

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  France10721186+1223Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup2–14–04–10–02–1
2  Sweden10613269+1719Advance to second round2–11–13–08–04–0
3  Netherlands106132112+9190–12–03–15–04–1
4  Bulgaria104151419−5130–13–22–04–31–0
5  Luxembourg10136826−1861–30–11–31–11–0
6  Belarus10127621−1550–00–41–32–11–1
Source: FIFA

Group Bedit

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  Portugal10901324+2827Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup2–03–05–14–16–0
2   Switzerland10901237+1627Advance to second round2–05–22–01–03–0
3  Hungary1041514140130–12–31–03–14–0
4  Faroe Islands10235416−1290–60–20–00–01–0
5  Latvia10217718−1170–30–30–20–24−0
6  Andorra10118223−2140–21–21–00–00–1
Source: FIFA

Group Cedit

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  Germany101000434+3930Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup2–03–06–05–17–0
2  Northern Ireland10613176+1119Advance to second round1–32–02–04–04–0
3  Czech Republic104331710+7151–20–02–10–05–0
4  Norway104151716+1130–31–01–12–04–1
5  Azerbaijan103161019−9101–40–11–21–05–1
6  San Marino100010251−4900–80–30–60–80–1
Source: FIFA

Group Dedit

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  Serbia106312010+1021Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup2–21–13–21–03–0
2  Republic of Ireland10541126+619Advance to second round0–10–01–11–02–0
3  Wales10451136+7171–10–11–01–14–0
4  Austria104331412+2153–20–12–21–12–0
5  Georgia10055814−651–31–10–11–21–1
6  Moldova10028423−1920–31–30–20–12–2
Source: FIFA

Group Eedit

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  Poland108112814+1425Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup3–24–23–12–13–0
2  Denmark10622208+1220Advance to second round4–00–11–11–04–1
3  Montenegro105142012+8161–20–11–04–15–0
4  Romania103431210+2130–30–01–11–03–1
5  Armenia102171026−1671–61–43–20–52–0
6  Kazakhstan10037626−2032–21–30–30–01–1
Source: FIFA

Group Fedit

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  England10820183+1526Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup2–13–01–02–02–0
2  Slovakia10604177+10180–13–01–04–03–0
3  Scotland105321712+5182–21–01–01–12–0
4  Slovenia10433127+5150–01–02–24–02–0
5  Lithuania10136720−1360–11–20–32–22–0
6  Malta10019325−2210–41–31–50–11–1
Source: FIFA

Group Gedit

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  Spain10910363+3328Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup3–03–04–14–08–0
2  Italy10721218+1323Advance to second round1–12–01–01–15–0
3  Albania104151013−3130–20–10–32–12–0
4  Israel104061015−5120–11–30–30–12–1
5  Macedonia1032515150111–22–31–11–24–0
6  Liechtenstein100010139−3800–80–40–20–10–3
Source: FIFA

Group Hedit

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  Belgium10910436+3728Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup1–14–08–14–09–0
2  Greece10541176+1119Advance to second round1–21–10–02–04–0
3  Bosnia and Herzegovina105232413+11173–40–05–02–05–0
4  Estonia103251319−6110–20–21–21–04–0
5  Cyprus10316918−9100–31–23–20–03–1
6  Gibraltar100010347−4400–61–40–40–61–2
Source: FIFA

Group Iedit

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1  Iceland10712167+922Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup1–02–02–03–22–0
2  Croatia10622154+1120Advance to second round2–01–01–11–11–0
3  Ukraine10523139+4171–10–22–01–03–0
4  Turkey104331413+1150–31–02–22–02–0
5  Finland10235913−491–00–11–22–21–1
6  Kosovo10019324−2111–20–60–21–40–1
Source: FIFA

Ranking of second-placed teamsedit

When the draw was made, groups H and I had one team fewer than the other groups so it was decided that matches against the last-placed team in each of the six-team groups would not be included in the ranking of the second-placed teams even after the admission of Kosovo and Gibraltar.[26] As a result, only eight matches played by each team were counted in the second-placed table.

The eight best runners-up were determined by the following parameters, in this order:[27]

  1. Highest number of points
  2. Goal difference
  3. Highest number of goals scored
  4. Fair play points
  5. Drawing of lots

PosGrpTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1B   Switzerland8701186+1221Advance to second round (play-offs)
2G  Italy8521128+417
3E  Denmark8422136+714
4I  Croatia842284+414
5A  Sweden8413189+913
6C  Northern Ireland8413106+413
7H  Greece834195+413
8D  Republic of Ireland834175+213
9F  Slovakia8404116+512
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Counting only matches against teams ranked first to fifth in the group, 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Fair play points; 5) Drawing of lots.[28][29]

Second roundedit

The eight best group runners-up contested the second round, where they were paired into four two-legged (home-and-away) fixtures.

Seeding and drawedit

The draw for the second round (play-offs) was held on 17 October 2017, 14:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland.[30] The eight teams were seeded by FIFA World Rankings published on 16 October 2017, rather than qualifying record, with the top four teams in Pot 1, and the remaining four teams in Pot 2. It so happened that the top four teams by qualifying record were the same as the top four by FIFA World Ranking. Teams from Pot 1 played teams from Pot 2 on a home and away basis, with the order of legs decided by draw.

Pot 1Pot 2
  Switzerland (11)
 Italy (15)
 Croatia (18)
 Denmark (19)
 Northern Ireland (23)
 Sweden (25)
 Republic of Ireland (26)
 Greece (47)

Matchesedit

The first legs were played on 9–11 November, and the second legs were played on 12–14 November 2017. The winners of each tie qualified for the World Cup.

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Switzerland  1–0  Northern Ireland1–00–0
Croatia  4–1  Greece4–10–0
Denmark  5–1  Republic of Ireland0–05–1
Sweden  1–0  Italy1–00–0

Qualified teamsedit

The following 14 teams from UEFA qualified for the final tournament.

TeamQualified asQualified onPrevious appearances in FIFA World Cup1
 RussiaHosts2 December 201010 (19582, 19622, 19662, 19702, 19822, 19862, 19902, 1994, 2002, 2014)
 FranceGroup A winners10 October 201714 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
 PortugalGroup B winners10 October 20176 (1966, 1986, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
 GermanyGroup C winners5 October 201718 (1934, 1938, 19543, 19583, 19623, 19663, 19703, 19743, 19783, 19823, 19863, 19903, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
 SerbiaGroup D winners9 October 201711 (19304, 19504, 19544, 19584, 19624, 19744, 19824, 19904, 19984, 20064, 2010)
 PolandGroup E winners8 October 20177 (1938, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2006)
 EnglandGroup F winners5 October 201714 (1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
 SpainGroup G winners6 October 201714 (1934, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
 BelgiumGroup H winners3 September 201712 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2014)
 IcelandGroup I winners9 October 20170 (debut)
  SwitzerlandSecond round (play-off) winners12 November 201710 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1994, 2006, 2010, 2014)
 CroatiaSecond round (play-off) winners12 November 20174 (1998, 2002, 2006, 2014)
 DenmarkSecond round (play-off) winners14 November 20174 (1986, 1998, 2002, 2010)
 SwedenSecond round (play-off) winners13 November 201711 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 2002, 2006)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
2 Competed as Soviet Union.
3 Competed as West Germany. A separate team for East Germany also participated in qualifications during this time, having only competed in 1974.
4 From 1930 to 1998, Serbia competed as Yugoslavia, while in 2006 as Serbia and Montenegro.

Top goalscorersedit

16 goals
15 goals
11 goals
9 goals
8 goals
7 goals
6 goals
For full lists of goalscorers, see sections in each group:

Brandingedit

UEFA unveiled the branding for the qualifiers on 15 April 2013. It shows a national jersey inside a heart, and represents Europe, honour and ambition. The same branding was also used for the European qualifiers for the UEFA Euro 2016.[31]

Broadcastingedit

Sponsorsedit

Referencesedit

External linksedit

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