Last updated : Sunday, 21 April 2024
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts.
All 210 remaining FIFA member associations were eligible to enter the qualifying process, and for the first time in World Cup history, all eligible national teams registered for the preliminary competition, but Zimbabwe and Indonesia were disqualified before playing their first matches.
Qualification process
- The qualification process began on 12 March 2015 and concluded on 15 November 2017.
- The teams were drawn into 10 groups of five or six teams, with each team playing each other team in its group home and away.
- The winners of each group qualified automatically for the World Cup.
- The four best runners-up from the UEFA qualification groups also qualified automatically.
- The remaining two runners-up played each other in a play-off, with the winner also qualifying for the World Cup.
Qualified teams
- Russia (hosts)
- Argentina
- Australia
- Belgium
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Denmark
- Egypt
- England
- France
- Germany
- Iceland
- Iran
- Japan
- Mexico
- Morocco
- Nigeria
- Panama
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Tunisia
- Uruguay
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