2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process will decide 31 of the 32 teams which will play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with the hosts Russia qualifying automatically. All 208 remaining FIFA member associations are eligible to enter the qualifying process. For the first time in World Cup history, all national teams registered for the preliminary competition.^[1] Not all competed, as Zimbabwe were expelled from the competition on 12 March 2015 due to their failure to pay former coach José Claudinei a severance fee,^[2] a decision that the Zimbabwe Football Association said they would appeal,^[3] while Indonesia were excluded from the qualifying competition following the suspension of their football association by FIFA on 30 May 2015.^[4] Bhutan and South Sudan made their FIFA World Cup qualification debuts.^[5][6]

While the main qualifying draw took place at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg on 25 July 2015,^[7][8] a number of qualification matches were played before that.^[9] The first began in Dili, Timor-Leste on 12 March as part of the AFC's qualification,^[10] with East Timorese player Chiquito do Carmo scoring the first goal of qualification. Matches were also played in CONCACAF prior to the main draw.

Qualified teams

  Country qualified for World Cup

  Country may qualify

  Country failed to qualify with games still to play

  Country failed to qualify

  Country expelled from the tournament by FIFA prior to playing a match

  Country not a FIFA member

Team	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Finals appearance	Last appearance	Consecutive finals appearances	Previous best performance
Russia	Host	2 December 2010	11th[USSR 1]	2014	2	Fourth place (1966)[USSR 2]

Notes

Qualification process

The number of teams participating in the final tournament is 32. Even though the qualification process began in March 2015, the allocation of slots for each confederation was discussed by the FIFA Executive Committee on 30 May 2015 in Zürich after the FIFA Congress.^[11] It was decided that the same allocation as 2014 would be kept for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.^[12]

Summary of qualification

Updated after all matches on 17 October 2015

Confederation	Teams started	Teams that have qualified	Teams that can still qualify	Teams that have been eliminated	Remaining places in finals	Total places in finals	Next matchday	Qualifying end date	Inter-Confederation Play-offs
AFC	46	0	35	11	4 or 5	4 or 5	5 November 2015	10 October 2017	14 November 2017
CAF	54	0	40	14	5	5	11 November 2015	14 November 2017	-
CONCACAF	35	0	12	23	3 or 4	3 or 4	13 November 2015	10 October 2017	14 November 2017
CONMEBOL	10	0	10	0	4 or 5	4 or 5	12 November 2015	10 October 2017	14 November 2017
OFC	11	0	8	3	0 or 1	0 or 1	28 May 2016	10 October 2017	14 November 2017
UEFA	52+1	0+1	52	0	13	13+1	4 September 2016	14 November 2017	-
Total	208+1	0+1	157	51	31	31+1	5 November 2015	14 November 2017	14 November 2017

Note: One team each from AFC, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC will play in the inter-confederation play-offs, scheduled for 6–14 November 2017.

Format

The formats of the qualifying competitions depend on each confederation (see below). Each round may be played in either of the following formats:^[13]

• League format, where more than two teams form groups to play home-and-away round-robin matches, or in exceptions permitted by the FIFA Organizing Committee, single round-robin matches hosted by one of the participating teams or on neutral territory.
• Knockout format, where two teams play home-and-away two-legged matches.

Tiebreakers

In home-and-away league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):^[13]

1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
2. Goal difference
3. 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 is only between two teams)
8. Play-off match(es) on neutral ground (if approved by FIFA Organizing Committee), with extra time and penalty shoot-out if necessary

If the group is played as a single round-robin hosted by one of the participating teams or on neutral territory, only the first three criteria above are applied. Afterwards, drawing of lots is used to determine the ranking (regulations Article 20.8).^[13]

In cases where teams finishing in the same position across different groups are compared for determining which teams advance to the next stage, the criteria is decided by the confederation and require the approval of FIFA (regulations Article 20.9).^[13]

In knockout format, the team that has the higher aggregate score over the two legs progresses to the next round. In the event that aggregate scores finish level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs progresses. If away goals are also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time are played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves. The away goals rule is again applied after extra time, i.e. if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team qualifies by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by penalty shoot-out (regulations Article 20.10).^[13]

Confederation qualification

AFC

The AFC Executive Committee meeting on 16 April 2014 approved the proposal to merge the preliminary qualification rounds of the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup, which will be expanded to 24 teams starting in 2019:^[14]

• First round: A total of 12 teams (teams ranked 35–46) played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the second round.
• Second round: A total of 40 teams (teams ranked 1–34 and six first round winners) were divided into eight groups of five teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The eight group winners and the four best group runners-up will advance to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualification as well as qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals.
• Third round: The 12 teams (an increase from 10 for 2014) which advance from the second round will be divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams will advance to the fourth round.
• Fourth round: The two third-placed teams of each group from the third round will play home-and-away over two legs. The winner will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

A total of 24 teams eliminated from World Cup qualification in the second round will compete in the third round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification (which will be separate from the third round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification), where they will be divided into six groups of four teams and compete for the remaining slots of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. The 24 teams will consist of the 16 highest ranked teams eliminated in the second round, and the eight teams that advance from the play-off round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification which are contested by the remaining 12 teams eliminated in the second round.^[15]

Current stage (second round)

The draw for the second round was held on 14 April 2015, at the JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.^[16]

Indonesia (PSSI) was suspended on 30 May 2015 for governmental interference.^[17] Subsequently, the AFC confirmed that Indonesia have been excluded from the qualifying competition, and all matches involving them have been cancelled.^[18]

Group A Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Saudi Arabia 4 12 2  United Arab Emirates 4 7 3  Palestine 4 5 4  Malaysia 5 4 5  Timor-Leste 5 2 Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2015. Source: FIFA	Group B Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Jordan (X) 5 13 2  Australia 4 9 3  Kyrgyzstan 5 8 4  Tajikistan 5 2 5  Bangladesh 5 1 Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2015. Source: FIFA (X) Assured of at least Asian Cup qualifying third round.
Group C Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Qatar (X) 5 15 2  Hong Kong 5 10 3  China PR 4 7 4  Maldives 5 3 5  Bhutan (Y) 5 0 Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2015. Source: FIFA (X) Assured of at least Asian Cup qualifying third round; (Y) Eliminated from World Cup.	Group D Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Oman 5 11 2  Iran 4 8 3  Turkmenistan 5 7 4  Guam 5 7 5  India (Y) 5 0 Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2015. Source: FIFA (Y) Eliminated from World Cup.
Group E Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Syria 5 12 2  Japan 4 10 3  Singapore 5 10 4  Afghanistan 5 3 5  Cambodia (Y) 5 0 Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2015. Source: FIFA (Y) Eliminated from World Cup.	Group F Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Thailand (X) 4 10 2  Iraq 3 5 3  Vietnam 4 4 4  Chinese Taipei 3 0 5  Indonesia (D) 0 0 Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2015. Source: FIFA (D) Disqualified; (X) Assured of at least Asian Cup qualifying third round.
Group G Pos Team Pld Pts 1  South Korea 4 12 2  Kuwait 5 10 3  Lebanon 5 7 4  Myanmar 5 4 5  Laos 5 1 Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2015. Source: FIFA	Group H Pos Team Pld Pts 1  North Korea 5 13 2  Uzbekistan 4 9 3  Philippines 5 7 4  Bahrain 5 6 5  Yemen (Y) 5 0 Updated to match(es) played on 13 October 2015. Source: FIFA (Y) Eliminated from World Cup.

Ranking of runners-up

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	G	Kuwait	4	2	1	1	10	1	+9	7	Third round and Asian Cup
2	E	Japan	3	2	1	0	9	0	+9	7
3	H	Uzbekistan	3	2	0	1	11	5	+6	6
4	B	Australia	3	2	0	1	5	3	+2	6
5	D	Iran	3	1	2	0	8	2	+6	5	Asian Cup qualifying third round
6	F	Iraq	3	1	2	0	8	4	+4	5
7	A	United Arab Emirates	3	1	1	1	11	2	+9	4
8	C	Hong Kong	3	1	1	1	4	3	+1	4

CAF

The CAF Executive Committee approved the format for the qualifiers of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 14 January 2015.^[19] However, on 9 July 2015 FIFA officially announced that only three rounds will be played instead of four.^[20]

• First round: A total of 26 teams (teams ranked 28–53) will play home-and-away over two legs. The 13 winners will advance to the second round.
• Second round: A total of 40 teams (teams ranked 1–27 and 13 first round winners) will play home-and-away over two legs. The 20 winners will advance to the third round.
• Third round: The 20 teams which advance from the second round will be divided into five groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The winners of each group will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Zimbabwe, even though they entered the competition, were expelled on 12 March 2015 due to their failure to pay former coach José Claudinei a severance fee.^[2] Therefore, only 53 African teams were involved in the draw.

Most recent stage (first round)

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Somalia	0–6	Niger	0–2	0–4
South Sudan	1–5	Mauritania	1–1	0–4
Gambia	2–3	Namibia	1–1	1–2
São Tomé and Príncipe	1–3	Ethiopia	1–0	0–3
Chad	2–2 (a)	Sierra Leone	1–0	1–2
Comoros	1–1 (a)	Lesotho	0–0	1–1
Djibouti	1–8	Swaziland	0–6	1–2
Eritrea	1–5	Botswana	0–2	1–3
Seychelles	0–3	Burundi	0–1	0–2
Liberia	4–2	Guinea-Bissau	1–1	3–1
Central African Republic	2–5	Madagascar	0–3	2–2
Mauritius	2–5	Kenya	2–5	0–0
Tanzania	2–1	Malawi	2–0	0–1

Next stage (second round)

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Niger	Match 1	Cameroon	13 Nov	17 Nov
Mauritania	Match 2	Tunisia	13 Nov	17 Nov
Namibia	Match 3	Guinea	12 Nov	15 Nov
Ethiopia	Match 4	Congo	14 Nov	17 Nov
Chad	Match 5	Egypt	14 Nov	17 Nov
Comoros	Match 6	Ghana	13 Nov	17 Nov
Swaziland	Match 7	Nigeria	13 Nov	17 Nov
Botswana	Match 8	Mali	14 Nov	17 Nov
Burundi	Match 9	DR Congo	12 Nov	15 Nov
Liberia	Match 10	Ivory Coast	13 Nov	17 Nov
Madagascar	Match 11	Senegal	13 Nov	17 Nov
Kenya	Match 12	Cape Verde	13 Nov	17 Nov
Tanzania	Match 13	Algeria	14 Nov	17 Nov
Sudan	Match 14	Zambia	11 Nov	15 Nov
Libya	Match 15	Rwanda	13 Nov	17 Nov
Morocco	Match 16	Equatorial Guinea	12 Nov	15 Nov
Mozambique	Match 17	Gabon	11 Nov	14 Nov
Benin	Match 18	Burkina Faso	12 Nov	17 Nov
Togo	Match 19	Uganda	12 Nov	15 Nov
Angola	Match 20	South Africa	13 Nov	17 Nov

CONCACAF

An amendment to the qualification process for this tournament had been suggested,^[21] which would see the first three rounds played as knockout rounds, with both the fourth round and the final round (referred to as 'The Hex') played as group stages. The first round would be played during the FIFA international dates of 23–31 March 2015.^[22] CONCACAF announced the full details on 12 January 2015:^[23][24]

• First round: A total of 14 teams (teams ranked 22–35) played home-and-away over two legs. The seven winners advanced to the second round.
• Second round: A total of 20 teams (teams ranked 9–21 and seven first round winners) played home-and-away over two legs. The ten winners advanced to the third round.
• Third round: A total of 12 teams (teams ranked 7–8 and ten second round winners) played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the fourth round.
• Fourth round: A total of 12 teams (teams ranked 1–6 and six third round winners) will be divided into three groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group will advance to the fifth round.
• Fifth round: The six teams which advance from the fourth round will play home-and-away round-robin matches in one single group (often referred to as the "Hexagonal"). The top three teams will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the fourth-placed team will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Most recent stage (third round)

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Curaçao	0–2	El Salvador	0–1	0–1
Canada	4–1	Belize	3–0	1–1
Grenada	1–6	Haiti	1–3	0–3
Jamaica	4–3	Nicaragua	2–3	2–0
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	3–2	Aruba	2–0	1–2
Antigua and Barbuda	1–2	Guatemala	1–0	0–2

Next stage (fourth round)

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Mexico	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to fifth round		—	6 Sep '16	13 Nov '15	29 Mar '16
1	Honduras	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			17 Nov '15	—	29 Mar '16	2 Sep '16
1	El Salvador	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			2 Sep '16	25 Mar '16	—	17 Nov '15
1	Canada	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			25 Mar '16	13 Nov '15	6 Sep '16	—

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Costa Rica	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to fifth round		—	6 Sep '16	13 Nov '15	29 Mar '16
1	Panama	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			17 Nov '15	—	29 Mar '16	2 Sep '16
1	Haiti	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			2 Sep '16	25 Mar '16	—	17 Nov '15
1	Jamaica	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			25 Mar '16	13 Nov '15	6 Sep '16	—

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to fifth round		—	6 Sep '16	13 Nov '15	29 Mar '16
1	Trinidad and Tobago	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			17 Nov '15	—	29 Mar '16	2 Sep '16
1	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			2 Sep '16	25 Mar '16	—	17 Nov '15
1	Guatemala	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			25 Mar '16	13 Nov '15	6 Sep '16	—

CONMEBOL

The qualification structure is the same as the previous five editions. The ten teams will play in a league of home-and-away round-robin matches. The top four teams will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the fifth-placed team will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Unlike previous qualifying tournaments where the fixtures were pre-determined, the fixtures were decided by a draw held on 25 July 2015, at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.^[25]

Current stage

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Uruguay	2	2	0	0	5	0	+5	6	Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup		—	MD11	MD4	MD8	MD13	3–0	MD15	MD6	MD9	MD18
2	Ecuador	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	6			MD3	—	MD9	MD5	MD7	MD14	MD18	MD16	MD12	2–0
3	Chile	2	2	0	0	6	3	+3	6			MD12	MD17	—	MD15	2–0	MD3	MD5	MD10	MD14	MD8
4	Paraguay	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	4			MD16	MD13	MD7	—	MD6	MD9	0–0	MD11	MD18	MD4
5	Brazil	2	1	0	1	3	3	0	3	Advance to inter-confederation play-offs		MD5	MD15	MD18	MD14	—	MD8	MD11	MD4	3–1	MD9
6	Colombia	2	1	0	1	2	3	−1	3			MD10	MD6	MD11	MD17	MD16	—	MD4	2–0	MD7	MD13
7	Argentina	2	0	1	1	0	2	−2	1			MD7	0–2	MD13	MD10	MD3	MD12	—	MD17	MD16	MD6
8	Peru	2	0	0	2	3	6	−3	0			MD14	MD8	3–4	MD3	MD12	MD18	MD9	—	MD5	MD15
9	Venezuela	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	0			MD17	MD4	MD6	0–1	MD10	MD15	MD8	MD13	—	MD11
10	Bolivia	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0			0–2	MD10	MD16	MD12	MD17	MD5	MD14	MD7	MD3	—

OFC

The qualification structure is as follows:^[26][20]

• First round: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, and Tonga will play a round-robin tournament at a single country. The winner will advance to the second round.
• Second round (OFC Nations Cup): A total of eight teams (Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu, and the first round winner) will play the tournament at a single country. For the group stage, they will be divided into two groups of four teams. The top three teams of each group will advance to the third round of World Cup qualifying. The top two teams of each group will also advance to the knockout stage (semi-finals and final) to decide the 2016 OFC Nations Cup winner which will play in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.
• Third round: The six teams which advance from the second round will be divided into two groups of three teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The two group winners will meet in a two-legged match with the winner advancing to the inter-confederation play-offs in November 2017 where they will play a team from another confederation for a place in the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals.

The OFC have considered different proposals of the qualifying tournament.^[27] A previous proposal adopted by the OFC in October 2014 have the eight teams divided into two groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches in the second round, followed by the top two teams of each group advancing to the third round to play in a single group of home-and-away round-robin matches to decide the winner of the 2016 OFC Nations Cup which will both qualify to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.^[28] However, it was later reported in April 2015 that the OFC had reversed its decision, and the 2016 OFC Nations Cup will be played as a one-off tournament similar to the 2012 OFC Nations Cup.^[29]

Most recent stage (first round)

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Samoa	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	6	Advance to 2016 OFC Nations Cup/second round		—	3–2	—	—
2	American Samoa	3	2	0	1	6	4	+2	6			—	—	2–0	—
3	Cook Islands	3	2	0	1	4	2	+2	6			1–0	—	—	—
4	Tonga (H)	3	0	0	3	1	8	−7	0			0–3	1–2	0–3	—

Next stage (second round)

Group A Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Tahiti 0 0 1  New Caledonia 0 0 1  Samoa 0 0 1  Papua New Guinea (H) 0 0 First match(es) will be played on 28 May 2016. Source: FIFA (H) Host.

Group B Pos Team Pld Pts 1  New Zealand 0 0 1  Solomon Islands 0 0 1  Fiji 0 0 1  Vanuatu 0 0 First match(es) will be played on 28 May 2016. Source: FIFA

UEFA

Russia have qualified automatically as hosts. The qualifying format for the remaining 52 FIFA-affiliated UEFA teams was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee meeting on 22–23 March 2015 in Vienna.^[30][31] The draw for the UEFA zone took place on 25 July 2015 in St. Petersburg.^[32][20]

• First round (group stage): The 52 teams were divided into nine groups (seven groups of six teams and two groups of five teams) to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The winners of each group will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the eight best runners-up will advance to the second round (play-offs).
• Second round (play-offs): The eight best runners-up from the first round will play home-and-away over two legs. The four winners will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Next stage (first round)

The draw for the first round was held on 25 July 2015, at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.^[20]

Group A Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Netherlands 0 0 1  France 0 0 1  Sweden 0 0 1  Bulgaria 0 0 1  Belarus 0 0 1  Luxembourg 0 0 First match(es) will be played on 6 September 2016. Source: FIFA	Group B Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Portugal 0 0 1   Switzerland 0 0 1  Hungary 0 0 1  Faroe Islands 0 0 1  Latvia 0 0 1  Andorra 0 0 First match(es) will be played on 6 September 2016. Source: FIFA
Group C Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Germany 0 0 1  Czech Republic 0 0 1  Northern Ireland 0 0 1  Norway 0 0 1  Azerbaijan 0 0 1  San Marino 0 0 First match(es) will be played on 4 September 2016. Source: FIFA	Group D Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Wales 0 0 1  Austria 0 0 1  Serbia 0 0 1  Republic of Ireland 0 0 1  Moldova 0 0 1  Georgia 0 0 First match(es) will be played on 5 September 2016. Source: FIFA
Group E Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Romania 0 0 1  Denmark 0 0 1  Poland 0 0 1  Montenegro 0 0 1  Armenia 0 0 1  Kazakhstan 0 0 First match(es) will be played on 4 September 2016. Source: FIFA	Group F Pos Team Pld Pts 1  England 0 0 1  Slovakia 0 0 1  Scotland 0 0 1  Slovenia 0 0 1  Lithuania 0 0 1  Malta 0 0 First match(es) will be played on 4 September 2016. Source: FIFA
Group G Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Spain 0 0 1  Italy 0 0 1  Albania 0 0 1  Israel 0 0 1  Macedonia 0 0 1  Liechtenstein 0 0 First match(es) will be played on 5 September 2016. Source: FIFA	Group H Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Belgium 0 0 1  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 0 1  Greece 0 0 1  Estonia 0 0 1  Cyprus 0 0 First match(es) will be played on 6 September 2016. Source: FIFA
Group I Pos Team Pld Pts 1  Croatia 0 0 1  Iceland 0 0 1  Ukraine 0 0 1  Turkey 0 0 1  Finland 0 0 First match(es) will be played on 5 September 2016. Source: FIFA

Ranking of runners-up

Inter-confederation play-offs

The inter-confederation play-offs are scheduled to be played between 6–14 November 2017.^[33]

The matchups were decided at the preliminary draw which was held on 25 July 2015, at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.^[20]

CONCACAF v AFC

OFC v CONMEBOL

Top goalscorers

Note: Players in bold are still active in the competition.

8 goals

5 goals

4 goals

References

External links

• Official websites for 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, Qualifiers, FIFA.com