2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/russia2018/news/newsid=2507253/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150115183352/http://www.fifa.com//worldcup/russia2018/news/newsid=2507253/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 January 2015|title=Road to Russia with new milestone|publisher=FIFA.com|date=15 January 2015}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/feb/12/gibraltar-appeal-fifa-world-cup-qualifying|title=Gibraltar appeal to court for Fifa recognition to enter World Cup qualifying|work=The Guardian|date=12 February 2015}} 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.{{cite web| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/03/sports/soccer/ruling-moves-gibraltar-closer-to-fifa-membership.html |title=Ruling Moves Gibraltar Closer to FIFA Membership |work=The New York Times |date=2 May 2016}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/news/y=2016/m=5/news=fifa-council-agrees-on-four-phase-bidding-process-for-2026-fifa-world--2790472.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510215719/http://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/news/y=2016/m=5/news=fifa-council-agrees-on-four-phase-bidding-process-for-2026-fifa-world--2790472.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 May 2016|title=FIFA Council agrees on four-phase bidding process for 2026 FIFA World Cup|publisher=FIFA.com|date=10 May 2016}}

On 13 May 2016, both Kosovo and Gibraltar were officially admitted as FIFA members, thus allowing them to compete.{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/kosovo-gibraltar-join-fifa-before-2018-world-cup-qualifying/2016/05/13/37144c7a-193d-11e6-971a-dadf9ab18869_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514142209/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/kosovo-gibraltar-join-fifa-before-2018-world-cup-qualifying/2016/05/13/37144c7a-193d-11e6-971a-dadf9ab18869_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 May 2016|title=Kosovo, Gibraltar join FIFA before 2018 World Cup qualifying|work=The Washington Post|date=13 May 2016}} UEFA created a task force to discuss how to integrate the two teams into the competition,{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.org/mediaservices/newsid=2365958.html|title=Timeline for UEFA Presidential elections decided|publisher=UEFA|date=18 May 2016|access-date=18 May 2016|archive-date=22 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722145008/http://www.uefa.org/mediaservices/newsid=2365958.html|url-status=dead}} 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.

The qualification structure was as follows:{{cite web|url=http://resources.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/preliminarydraw/02/66/71/27/europe_drawprocedures_neutral.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724213005/http://resources.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/preliminarydraw/02/66/71/27/europe_drawprocedures_neutral.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 July 2015|title=Draw Procedures – European Zone|publisher=FIFA.com}}

• 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.{{cite web |date=16 June 2015 |title=FIFA World Cup qualifying draw format |url=http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=2257685.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160626094547/http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/news/newsid%3D2257685.html |archive-date=26 June 2016 |publisher=UEFA}}

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The scheduling of qualifying matches, which UEFA centralised, followed the "Week of Football" concept first used for UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying:{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.org/about-uefa/administration/marketing/blocked-broadcasting-hours/news/newsid=1939716.html|title=UEFA announces deals for European qualifiers|publisher=UEFA.org|date=10 April 2013|access-date=5 March 2015|archive-date=23 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023001015/http://www.uefa.org/about-uefa/administration/marketing/blocked-broadcasting-hours/news/newsid=1939716.html|url-status=dead}}

• 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, 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.{{Cite web |last=UEFA.com |title=World Cup European Qualifiers fixtures confirmed |url=https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/news/0253-0d8063d53683-37eece34611b-1000--world-cup-european-qualifiers-fixtures-confirmed/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=UEFA |language=en}}

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.{{Cite web |last=UEFA.com |title=European teams learn World Cup qualifying fate |url=https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/news/0253-0d8061d122ac-6b4e5e13ae2a-1000--european-teams-learn-world-cup-qualifying-fate/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=UEFA |language=en}}

The seeding was based on the July 2015 FIFA World Rankings.{{cite web|title=FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – July 2015 (UEFA) |url=https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/rank=252/uefa.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717025433/http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/rank=252/uefa.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 July 2015 |work=FIFA.com |publisher=Fédération Internationale de Football Association |date=9 July 2015 |access-date=9 July 2015}} 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.

Due to the centralization of media rights for European qualifiers, the following teams were drawn into groups with six teams: England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. Both the Netherlands and France were drawn together in Group A, and both Spain and Italy were drawn together in Group G.{{Cite web |last=UEFA.com |title=FIFA World Cup qualifying draw format|url=https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/news/0253-0d7ffa54e62a-74fd19cb037f-1000--fifa-world-cup-qualifying-draw-format/ |access-date=2024-06-20 |website=UEFA |language=en}}

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).

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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.{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.org/about-uefa/executive-committee/news/newsid=2373259.html|title=Kosovo to play in Group I in European Qualifiers|publisher=Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)|work=uefa.org|date=9 June 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2016/m=6/news=kosovo-and-gibraltar-assigned-to-2018-fifa-world-cup-qualifying-groups-2800709.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609202622/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2016/m=6/news=kosovo-and-gibraltar-assigned-to-2018-fifa-world-cup-qualifying-groups-2800709.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 June 2016|title=Kosovo and Gibraltar assigned to 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying groups|publisher=Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)|work=FIFA.com|date=9 June 2016}}{{cite web |url=http://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20160609_02331830 |title=Gibraltar komt in kwalificatiegroep van Rode Duivels voor WK |language=nl |access-date=9 June 2016 |date=9 June 2016}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/news/soccer-gibraltar-spain-kept-apart-euro-2016-draw-122831948--sow.html|title=Gibraltar and Spain kept apart in Euro 2016 draw|agency=Reuters|publisher=Yahoo Sports|date=24 January 2014}}

The hosts Russia were originally to be partnered with five-team Group H for friendlies.{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Tech/uefaorg/General/01/91/19/14/1911914_DOWNLOAD.pdf|title=Commercial regulations for the European qualifying matches for UEFA EURO 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup|publisher=UEFA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119013718/https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Tech/uefaorg/General/01/91/19/14/1911914_DOWNLOAD.pdf|archive-date=19 January 2013|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://tass.ru/en/sport/876439|title=UEFA sets up commission on Kosovo, Gibraltar participation in 2018 World Cup qualifiers|publisher=Russian News Agency TASS|work=tass.ru|date=18 May 2016|access-date=9 June 2016}}

{{legend|#ccffcc|Winner of each group qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup}}

{{legend|#BBF3FF|The eight best runners-up among all nine groups advanced to the second round (play-offs)}}

{{legend|#ffcccc|Other teams were eliminated after the first round}}

{{2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers}}

{{main|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A}}

{{:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules |show_matches=yes}}

{{main|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group B}}

{{:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group B|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules |show_matches=yes}}

{{main|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group C}}

{{:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group C|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules |show_matches=yes}}

{{main|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D}}

{{:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules |show_matches=yes}}

{{main|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group E}}

{{:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group E|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules |show_matches=yes}}

{{main|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group F}}

{{:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group F|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules |show_matches=yes}}

{{main|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group G}}

{{:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group G|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules |show_matches=yes}}

{{main|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group H}}

{{:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group H|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules |show_matches=yes}}

{{main|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group I}}

{{:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group I|only_pld_pts=no_hide_class_rules |show_matches=yes}}

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. Although the admission of Kosovo and Gibraltar made all teams have equal groups, this rule was not amended.{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/news/0253-0d81ba6951b2-3215211a956d-1000--focus-switches-to-world-cup-qualifying/|title=Focus switches to World Cup qualifying|website=UEFA|date=22 August 2016}} 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:{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/news/0253-0d8223be7f03-0b53fe9ad107-1000--european-qualifiers-world-cup-play-off-places-confirmed/|title=As it stands: ranking of second-placed teams|website=UEFA|date=3 October 2017}}

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

{{#invoke:Sports table|main|style=WDL

|section=Runners-up

|source=[https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/europe/index.html#2000062534 FIFA]

|update=complete

|win_GrA=4 |draw_GrA=1 |loss_GrA=3 |gf_GrA=18|ga_GrA=9

|win_GrB=7 |draw_GrB=0 |loss_GrB=1 |gf_GrB=18|ga_GrB=6

|win_GrC=4 |draw_GrC=1 |loss_GrC=3 |gf_GrC=10|ga_GrC=6

|win_GrD=3 |draw_GrD=4 |loss_GrD=1 |gf_GrD=7 |ga_GrD=5

|win_GrE=4 |draw_GrE=2 |loss_GrE=2 |gf_GrE=13|ga_GrE=6

|win_GrF=4 |draw_GrF=0 |loss_GrF=4 |gf_GrF=11|ga_GrF=6

|win_GrG=5 |draw_GrG=2 |loss_GrG=1 |gf_GrG=12|ga_GrG=8

|win_GrH=3 |draw_GrH=4 |loss_GrH=1 |gf_GrH=9 |ga_GrH=5

|win_GrI=4 |draw_GrI=2 |loss_GrI=2 |gf_GrI=8 |ga_GrI=4

|class_rules=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.{{cite web |url=http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/season=2018/competitionformat/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150728171229/http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/season=2018/competitionformat/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 July 2015 |title=Competition format - FIFA World Cup - News - UEFA.com |website=UEFA |publisher=UEFA |access-date=4 June 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/news/0253-0d8223be7f03-0b53fe9ad107-1000--european-qualifiers-world-cup-play-off-places-confirmed/|title=As it stands: ranking of second-placed teams|publisher=UEFA|date=3 October 2017}}

|team1=GrB |team2=GrG |team3=GrE |team4=GrI |team5=GrA |team6=GrC |team7=GrH |team8=GrD |team9=GrF

|name_GrA={{fb|SWE}}

|name_GrB={{fb|SUI}}

|name_GrC={{fb|NIR}}

|name_GrD={{fb|IRL}}

|name_GrE={{fb|DEN}}

|name_GrF={{fb|SVK}}

|name_GrG={{fb|ITA}}

|name_GrH={{fb|GRE}}

|name_GrI={{fb|CRO}}

|show_groups=T

|group_GrA=A

|group_GrB=B

|group_GrC=C

|group_GrD=D

|group_GrE=E

|group_GrF=F

|group_GrG=G

|group_GrH=H

|group_GrI=I

|res_col_header=Q

|result1=PO |result2=PO |result3=PO |result4=PO |result5=PO |result6=PO |result7=PO |result8=PO

|col_PO=blue1 |text_PO=Advance to second round (play-offs)

}}

{{main|2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA second round}}

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

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2017/m=9/news=fifa-world-cup-european-play-off-draw-to-take-place-on-17-october-2906954.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906121233/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2017/m=9/news=fifa-world-cup-european-play-off-draw-to-take-place-on-17-october-2906954.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 September 2017|title=FIFA World Cup European play-off draw to take place on 17 October|publisher=FIFA.com|date=6 September 2017}} 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.

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.

{{:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA second round}}

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

:

:

:

:

{{Goalscorers

|goals=807 |matches=278

|16 goals=

• {{fbicon|POL}} Robert Lewandowski

|15 goals=

• {{fbicon|POR}} Cristiano Ronaldo

|11 goals=

• {{fbicon|BEL}} Romelu Lukaku
• {{fbicon|DEN}} Christian Eriksen

|9 goals=

• {{fbicon|POR}} André Silva

|8 goals=

• {{fbicon|SWE}} Marcus Berg

|7 goals=

• {{fbicon|MNE}} Stevan Jovetić

|6 goals=

• {{fbicon|BEL}} Eden Hazard
• {{fbicon|GRE}} Kostas Mitroglou
• {{fbicon|ITA}} Ciro Immobile
• {{fbicon|NED}} Arjen Robben
• {{fbicon|SRB}} Aleksandar Mitrović
• {{fbicon|UKR}} Andriy Yarmolenko

}}

Below are full goalscorer lists for all groups and the play-off rounds:

{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}

• Group A
• Group B
• Group C
• Group D
• Group E
• Group F
• Group G
• Group H
• Group I
• Play-offs

{{div col end}}

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.{{cite news|title=European qualifiers branding launched|url=http://www.uefa.org/about-uefa/administration/marketing/news/newsid=1941055.html|access-date=10 September 2014|publisher=UEFA|date=15 April 2013}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{Official website|https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/index.html|Official FIFA World Cup website}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071120193625/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/europe/index.html Qualifiers – Europe], FIFA.com
• [https://archive.today/20130630123941/http://www.uefa.com/worldcup/index.html FIFA World Cup], UEFA.com

{{2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers}}

{{2016–17 in European football (UEFA)}}

{{2017–18 in European football (UEFA)}}

Uefa

Category:FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

FIFA World Cup qualification

FIFA World Cup qualification

FIFA World Cup qualification

FIFA World Cup qualification