Qualifying groups for the World Cup. Qualifications - how they happen

Is a long-running series of football games that will last almost 3 years in total. Such a stretch in time is associated with a huge number of teams in the future world championship. More than two hundred national teams submitted applications for participation in the championship, which became a record for the entire time of the world championships. Therefore, it is not surprising that the qualifying round will last so long.

In the review, we will analyze in detail the future participants, their chances of getting into the final part of the World Cup, as well as the specifics of the qualification.

the date of the

The first games started on March 12, 2015 at the Asian Football Confederation. A week later, the matches between the national teams of CONCACAF (North and Central America) started. On October 5, qualifying matches began among African and South American teams, and on August 31, the national teams of Oceania competed for the first time. European teams took the start in the championship later. It happened on September 6, 2016. Thus, the qualifying round of the World Cup stretched from March 12, 2015 to November 14, 2017, which is a total of more than two years.

Participants of the 2018 FIFA World Cup

All 208 FIFA members expressed their desire to participate in the 2018 World Cup, which was a record in the history of the world championships. At the same time, for the first time, the national teams of South Sudan, Kosovo, Bhutan and Gibraltar took part in the championship. However, already at the stage of applications and the first games in the qualifying round, the football family suffered losses. Due to organizational problems and non-compliance with FIFA rules, Indonesia, Zimbabwe and Kuwait dropped out of the championship.

However, 205 national teams are too overwhelming for any host country, especially since the level of teams is very different. This is why there is a complex sieve of qualifying tournaments.

All participants, whose applications were approved by FIFA, were divided into 6 continental clusters:

• Asia;
• Africa;
• North and Central America;
• South America;
• Oceania;
• Europe.

Let's consider each of these territorial zones separately.

Qualifying tournament: Asia

46 members of the Asian Football Confederation took part in the championship. During the two qualifying rounds, only 12 teams remained, which were divided into two groups:

Basket A:

• Iran;
• Uzbekistan;
• South Korea;
• Syria;
• Qatar;
• China.

Cart B:

• Saudi Arabia;
• Australia;
• Japan;
• Iraq;
• Thailand.

The Japanese, Koreans, and Australians have the most preferable chances of getting out. These teams are almost invariable participants in world championships. However, Iran should not be written off. Football fans will surely remember how the Iranians sensationally made their way to the final round of the 2014 World Cup, where they pretty much spoiled Argentina's blood in the group stage. Therefore, there is no reason to doubt the qualifications and fortitude of the Iranian footballers.

2018 World Cup Qualification: Africa

The results of the qualifying matches of the 2018 World Cup among African teams are much more interesting. Still, the level of the teams from the "black continent" is much higher than that of the Asian teams.

In the course of two qualifying championships, out of 53 teams that entered the fight, 20 remained. After the draw, they were divided into 5 baskets. The most interesting, perhaps, can be called group B:

• Nigeria;
• Cameroon;
• Algeria;
• Zambia.

In this peculiar "group of death" there were two local grandees at once. However, according to the rules, only the winners of their baskets can reach the World Cup final. Therefore, willy-nilly, but either Cameroon or Nigeria will be left outside the football festival in Russia.

North and Central America

In fact, there are only two serious teams in this cluster - Mexico and the United States. Some of the successes in the football field are demonstrated by the Costa Rican national team. Therefore, it is not surprising that all these three teams made it to the fifth qualifying round. They were also accompanied by three more highly rated teams. Here is a list of all the teams that made it to the final qualifying round:

• Mexico;
• Costa Rica;
• Honduras;
• Panama;
• Trinidad and Tobago.

The first 3 teams will go directly to the World Cup final, and the fourth participant will challenge the ticket with the best 3rd team of the Asian Confederation.

South America

Unlike previous clusters, South Americans do not have division into groups. All 10 members of CONMEBOL will play among themselves in a two-match scheme: one fight at home and one away. During the qualification, the first 4 lucky ones will receive the coveted tickets to the World Cup, and the 5th team will play a play-off match with the best Oceania national team. The list of all qualifiers is as follows:

• Brazil;
• Uruguay;
• Ecuador;
• Colombia;
• Argentina;
• Paraguay;
• Chile;
• Peru;
• Bolivia;
• Venezuela.

Oceania

The most modest qualifying zone in terms of the quality of participants. Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea… Oceania's 2018 World Cup qualifier table evokes vague memories of school geography lessons rather than fans' interest. However, here, at the end of the world, there is football. New Zealand is considered the most professional team. This team, by the way, can be seen at the 2018 Confederations Cup, which will be held in Russia.

In view of the depressing level of local teams, the best team that went through the sieve of three qualifying rounds, as a reward, receives only the opportunity to play in a butt meeting with the 5th team from South America. The winner of the fight will go to the world championship.

Qualifying Tours: Europe

Objectively, this is the strongest continental cluster. 54 collectives are traditionally divided into 9 groups. The basket winners receive a direct ticket to the World Cup, and the top 8 second teams play play-offs against each other. These are 4 more tickets.

The draw for the group round among European teams took place on 25 July 2015. In the course of it, two interesting baskets were identified:

Group A:

• Sweden;
• France;
• Netherlands;
• Bulgaria;
• Belarus;
• Luxembourg.

Group G:

• Spain;
• Italy;
• Albania;
• Israel;
• Macedonia;
• Liechtenstein.

In basket A, it will be interesting to watch the fight between the silver finalists of UEFA EURO 2016 French and the Dutch national team, which is going through a painful generation change. Will the not quite “clockwork orange” be able to cope with the young and ambitious Gallic cockerel?

In Group G, the recent rivals in the 1/8 finals of the European Championship 2016 - the national teams of Spain and Italy - will meet. Who is stronger: the Spaniards, heading towards building a new young team, or the Italian destructive machine? In general, there is more than enough intrigue!

Afterword

In 2018, we are waiting for two grand events - and the World Cup. But if the Olympics are just an aftertaste after Sochi, then the World Cup will take place literally outside our windows. Therefore, we have the right to know who will trample Russian lawns in 2018. How is Tahiti doing? Does Honduras qualify? Are there any chances for Burkina Faso to reach the final of the World Cup? For a true fan of the home championship, these are not idle questions!

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FIFA World Cup in Russia: Schedule of matches is a section that allows all football fans to freely navigate the calendar of matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and to be aware of all the necessary information on any of them. That is, you will never be late for a match or watching it, and you will know in advance which game will be played.

If desired or necessary, in the same section, everyone will be able to find all the information on each match of the tournament. To do this, it will be enough to click on any game in 2018 World Cup calendar.

Inside each match, before the game, you will be able to find the names of the refereeing team and familiarize yourself with the approximate line-ups for the match, or you can offer your vision of the game and discuss it in chat with other football fans. As the game progresses, you will have access to a text broadcast of each match, which will always be available and will not go anywhere even after the meeting. After the game, you will also be able to find out the authors of goals and those who chalked up cards or other productive actions worthy of the minutes of the meeting. Also, within each match, all relevant news on it will be available - which preceded the meeting or appeared following its results.

2018 FIFA World Cup dates

12 stadiums in 11 cities of Russia will host the matches of this summer's main event. The dates for the 2018 FIFA World Cup have long been set. Most football fans have long ago marked key dates on the calendar. Someone will see the matches from the stadium, and millions of people around the world will watch the 2018 World Cup on TV.

If you are not very often interested in football, then remember: the opening date of the 2018 FIFA World Cup is June 14. On this day, the Russian national team will open the tournament with a match against the national team of Saudi Arabia in Luzhniki. The rest of its matches in the group at the World Cup Russia will play on June 19 and 25 - with Egypt and Uruguay.

This and other dates of the 2018 FIFA World Cup can be viewed in our table - choose the matches of specific groups or the entire group stage. As the tournament progresses, the table will be updated - when the participants in specific playoff matches become known.

Knowing the start date of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and other days of matches of the Russian national team is also important due to the fresh initiative of the Deputy Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Igor Lebedev. The deputy proposes to make the days of matches of the Russian national team days off for the whole country.

Key dates of the 2018 FIFA World Cup

• June 14 - opening match at Luzhniki
• June 14-28 - group stage matches
• June 30 - start of the playoff matches
• July 10 and 11 - 1/2 final matches
• July 14 - match for 3rd place
• July 15 - final

The 21st FIFA World Cup is scheduled from June 14, 2018 to July 15, 2018 in Russia. The tournament involves 32 teams, which include Russia and 31 other teams that led the qualifying tournaments. 6 FIFA confederations have organized a series of tournaments to select candidates who will compete in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. FIFA Confederations held tournaments in their regions - Europe, Asia, South America, North America, Africa and Oceania.

Qualifications - how they happen

The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process consisted of a series of tournaments in which all 210 FIFA member countries could participate. These tournaments were organized by six FIFA confederations and 31 of the 32 countries selected for the 2018 FIFA World Cup were winners. The 32nd country, Russia, is the host country and qualifies automatically without the need to participate in qualifying matches. The schedules for the qualifying rounds were drawn by lot.

The qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup were exciting as the teams registered to qualify 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 different 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 North, Central American and Caribbean Football Federation (KONCACAF), the African Football Confederation (CAF) and Football Oceania Confederation (OFC).

The African Football Confederation, a member of FIFA, is holding a preliminary competition for the five allocated seats. Teams vying for five seats: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Mali, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Chad, Comoros, Sudan, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, 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 member states of the African Football Confederation, could not participate as the Zimbabwean Football Union was suspended for failing to pay unemployment benefits to the former national team coach.

The qualifying matches were held in three rounds. All teams participated in the first two rounds, of 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. Five African countries that have qualified: Tunisia, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal and Egypt.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has 4.5 seats, four seats and one playoff spot across two continents.

46 AFC member countries participated in the qualifying tournaments, and matches lasted more than five rounds. The AFC itself is a conglomerate of many football federations. The West Asia 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 first round was attended by 12 teams with the lowest rating. The top six teams moved on to the next round, 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 advanced to 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 made it directly to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The two teams vying for third place advanced to the fourth round.

In the fourth round, the two third-placed teams fought 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 advanced to the World Cup by beating Honduras.

The 54 members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the FIFA confederation, were divided into nine groups of six teams each, and all teams played in round robin matches against each other 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 country, automatically qualifies. In addition, the top eight runners-up also advance to the next round. UEFA's roster includes: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary, Republic of Macedonia, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary , Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Northern 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 led nine groups and qualified directly for the World Cup. Among the runners-up, Croatia, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland won the playoffs to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Among the teams participating in the qualifying rounds, Iceland has 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. CONCACAF member states 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, Curacao, Grenada, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Jamaica, Haiti, Martinique, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States Virgin Islands.

The extensive qualifiers held by CONCACAF had five rounds. The first three rounds were playoffs, while the fourth and final rounds 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 higher ranked teams. Twelve teams re-qualified again and the top six teams advanced to the fourth round.

In the fourth round, six teams were joined by six more, who qualified in the third round. Six teams or the top two teams in each group advanced to the fifth and final round.

In the fifth and final round, the six teams competed against each other in two matches, one at home and the other away from the opposition. 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, which are among the top three teams, qualified for the championship in Russia. The 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 other hand, is participating in the World Cup for the first time.

CONMEBOL, the South American Football Federation and the FIFA affiliate also conduct the FIFA World Cup qualification. The qualifying tournament for FIFA 2018 consisted of matches with double round-robin matches, and was held in nine matches, two rounds. Each team plays twice in each round, with one home and one away match.

The ten CONMEBOL member states 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 for the preliminaries, Peru qualified after beating New Zealand in the intercontinental playoffs

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), a subsidiary of FIFA, is conducting the FIFA World Cup qualification. For thirteen participants, the OFC allocates only 0.5 places or the international playoffs.

Thirteen Members - New Zealand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, American Samoa, Cook Island, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, French Polynesia, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. It is noteworthy that Australia is not in the OFC. In 2006, the Australian Football Federation (FFA) left the OFC and became a member of the Asian Football Confederation.

The tournament is held in three rounds. The first round, which took place in a round robin format, featured the four highest-ranked teams: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga, with the winner advancing to the second round.

The first round winner joined seven other teams: Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu. In this round, there were four teams in each group. The top three 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 in two matches, with the winner advancing to the playoffs with Peru.

The qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup are quite important and interesting information. First of all, it should be noted that the final part of the 21st World Championship will be held for the first time and will be held in Russia from June 14 to July 15, 2018. The games are planned to be held at 12 stadiums and in 11 cities of the Russian Federation. This list includes such cities as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi, Yekaterinburg.

Regarding how many teams will take part in the 2018 World Cup, it is known that it will be 32 national teams.

As for the Russian national team, as the host country, it automatically got a place in the final tournament. But what other teams will be included in this composition, it became known in December 2017, because it was then that the final draw took place in St. Petersburg at the Mariinsky Theater. What other interesting facts can be noted regarding the composition, and how the division will occur.

• Firstly, all the participating teams will be divided into 8 groups, each of which will include 4 teams.
• Secondly, 64 matches will be played in the World Cup. At the same time, 48 matches will enter the group stage, and only 16 will enter the playoff stage.

It is already officially known that the FIFA committee announced that the first open match will take place on June 14, 2018 in Moscow at one of the large Luzhniki stadiums. It is also here that one of the semifinal matches will be played on July 10 and the final match on July 15. But the match for the 3rd place in the World Championship is planned to be held on July 14, but already in the northern capital of our country in St. Petersburg at the new Zenit-Arena stadium.

FIFA World Cup review.

If you carefully study all the latest news regarding the composition of the participants, it is known that 208 countries have applied, but only 31 participants will be selected based on the results, with the exception of only the Russian team. What other latest news and facts can be noted regarding the qualifying tournament.

1. The team that takes 1st place in its tournament group immediately goes to the final part of the 2018 Championship.

2. Those 8 teams that took only 2nd place in their groups, in their turn, will be divided directly into pairs and in the future will be able to play 2 play-off matches, that is, at home and away. Moreover, it is worth mentioning one very interesting feature, according to which, according to the results of the play-off matches of 4 teams, the winners also receive a completely legal right to reach the final of the Championship tournament.

Agree, knowledge of such news and the features of the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup will help many to understand all the features and nuances.

Qualifying tournament calendar in the European zone.

Already today, it has been officially announced and known about the main matches and the schedule of games in each group and zone, and many have already taken place and the results are well known to many.

• First, the schedule and results of the games in Group A in 2016.

1. Belarus-France - September 6 (score 0: 0).
2. Bulgaria-Luximburg - September 6 (4: 3).
3. Sweden-Netherlands - September 6 (1: 1).
4. France-Bulgaria - October 7 (4: 1).
5. Luxembourg-Sweden - October 7 (0: 1).
6. Netherlands-Belarus - October 7 (4: 1).
7. Belarus-Luxembourg - October 10 (1: 1).
8. Netherlands-France - October 10 (0: 1).
9. Sweden-Bulgaria - October 10 (3: 0).
10. France-Sweden - November 11 (2: 1).
11. Bulgaria-Belarus - November 13 (1: 0).
12. Luxembourg-Netherlands - November 13 (1: 3).

1. Sweden-Belarus - March 25.
2. Bulgaria-Netherlands - March 25.
3. Luxembourg-France - March 25.
4. Belarus-Bulgaria - June 9.
5. Netherlands - Luxembourg - June 9.
6. Sweden-France - June 9.
7. Bulgaria-Sweden - August 31.
8. France-Netherlands - August 31.
9. Luxembourg-Belarus - August 31.
10. Belarus-Sweden - September 3.
11. Netherlands-Bulgaria - September 3.
12. France-Luxembourg - September 3.
13. Sweden-Luxembourg - October 7.
14. Belarus-Netherlands - October 7.
15. Bulgaria-France - October 7.
16. France-Belarus - October 10.
17. Luxembourg-Bulgaria - October 10.
18. Netherlands-Sweden - October 10.

This is how the schedule of matches and games looks like in some individual groups.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia is one of the most exciting and important events of this year, which all football fans and fans are eagerly awaiting.