The qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup are quite an important and interesting information. First of all, it is worth noting that the final part of the 21st World Championship will be held for the first time 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 teams.
As for the Russian team, as the organizing country, it automatically received a place in final tournament. But what other teams will be included in this line-up, it became known in December 2017, because it was then that the final draw took place in St. Petersburg at the Mariinsky Theater. What else Interesting Facts can be noted regarding the composition, and how the division will occur.
- Firstly, all participating teams will be divided into 8 groups, each of which will include 4 teams.
- Secondly, 64 matches will be played at 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 today 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 stadium. Also, this is where one of the semi-final matches- July 10 and the final match on July 15. But the match for 3rd place at 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.
World Cup review.
If you carefully study all last news regarding the composition of participants, it is known that 208 countries have submitted applications, but according to the results, only 31 participants will be selected, with the exception of only 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 final part Championship 2018.
- 2. Those 8 teams that took only 2nd place in their groups, in turn, will be divided directly into pairs and in the future they will be able to play 2 play-offs, that is, at home and away. And it is worth saying one very interesting feature, according to which, according to the results of the play-offs, 4 teams, the winners also receive a completely legitimate right to reach the final of the Championship tournament.
Agree, knowledge of such news and features of the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup will help many to understand all the features and nuances.
Calendar of the qualifying tournament in the European zone.
To date, 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.
- Belarus-France - September 6 (score 0:0).
- Bulgaria-Luximburg - September 6 (4:3).
- Sweden-Netherlands - September 6 (1:1).
- France-Bulgaria - October 7 (4:1).
- Luxembourg-Sweden - October 7 (0:1).
- Netherlands-Belarus - October 7 (4:1).
- Belarus-Luxembourg - October 10 (1:1).
- Netherlands-France - October 10 (0:1).
- Sweden-Bulgaria - October 10 (3:0).
- France-Sweden - November 11 (2:1).
- Bulgaria-Belarus - November 13 (1:0).
- Luxembourg-Netherlands - November 13 (1:3).
- Sweden-Belarus - March 25.
- Bulgaria-Netherlands - 25 March.
- Luxembourg-France - 25 March.
- Belarus-Bulgaria - June 9.
- Netherlands - Luxembourg - 9 June.
- Sweden-France - 9 June.
- Bulgaria-Sweden - 31 August.
- France-Netherlands - 31 August.
- Luxembourg-Belarus - 31 August.
- Belarus-Sweden - September 3.
- Netherlands-Bulgaria - 3 September.
- France-Luxembourg - 3 September.
- Sweden-Luxembourg - 7 October.
- Belarus-Netherlands - 7 October.
- Bulgaria-France - 7 October.
- France-Belarus - October 10.
- Luxembourg-Bulgaria - 10 October.
- Netherlands-Sweden - 10 October.
This is how the schedule of matches and games in some individual groups looks like.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia is one of the most exciting and important events of this year, which all fans and football fans are looking forward to with great anticipation.
FIFA World Cup in Russia: Match Schedule - a section that allows all football fans to freely navigate the calendar of matches of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and 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 the game will pass.
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 Championship calendar.
Inside each match before the game, you will be able to find the names of the refereeing team and familiarize yourself with indicative lineups for the match, or he can offer his own vision of the game and discuss it in a 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 after the meeting. After the game, you will also be able to find out the authors of the goals and those who chalked up cards or other effective actions worthy of the meeting protocol. Also, within each match, all relevant news on it will be available - which preceded the meeting or appeared after its results.
FIFA World Cup 2018 dates
12 stadiums in 11 Russian cities will host matches of this summer's main event. The dates for the 2018 FIFA World Cup have long been set. Most football fans have long marked key dates on the calendar. Someone will see the matches from the stadium, and millions of people around the world will follow 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 14th. On this day, the Russian national team will open the tournament with a match against Saudi Arabia in Luzhniki. Russia will play the rest of its matches in the group at the World Cup 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. In the course of the tournament, the table will be updated when the participants in specific playoff matches become known.
It is also important to know the start date of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and other days of matches of the Russian national team due to the fresh initiative of Igor Lebedev, Vice Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. The deputy proposes to make the days of matches of the Russian team days off for the whole country.
Key dates for the 2018 FIFA World Cup
- June 14 – opening match at Luzhniki
- June 14-28 - group stage matches
- June 30 - start of playoffs
- July 10 and 11 - 1/2 final matches
- July 14 - match for 3rd place
- July 15 - final
is a long series football games, which in total will last almost 3 years. Such a stretch in time is associated with a huge number of teams in the future World Cup. Only applications for participation in the championship were submitted by more than two hundred national teams, 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 future participants, their chances of getting into the final part of the World Cup, as well as qualification features.
the date of the
The first games began on March 12, 2015 in the Asian Football Confederation. A week later, the matches between the CONCACAF teams (North and Central America) started. On October 5, qualifying meetings among African and South American teams began, and on August 31, the national teams of Oceania measured their strength for the first time. Later than all the start in the championship was taken by European teams. 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 more than two years in total.
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 Cup. At the same time, for the first time, they took part in the championship national teams South Sudan, Kosovo, Bhutan and Gibraltar. However, already at the stage of application and the first games in the qualifying round football family suffered losses. Due to organizational problems and non-compliance with FIFA rules, Indonesia, Zimbabwe and Kuwait dropped out of the championship.
However, even 205 national teams is too unbearable for any host country, especially since the level of teams varies greatly. That 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.
Qualifier: Asia
46 members of the Asian Football Confederation took part in the championship. During the two qualifying rounds, only 12 teams remained from their number, which were divided into two groups:
Basket A:
- Iran;
- Uzbekistan;
- South Korea;
- Syria;
- Qatar;
- China.
Basket B:
- Saudi Arabia;
- Australia;
- Japan;
- Iraq;
- Thailand.
The Japanese, Koreans, and Australians have the most preferable chances of getting out. These teams are almost constant participants in world championships. However, do not write off Iran. Football fans will surely remember how the Iranians sensationally made it to the final round of the 2014 World Cup, where they pretty much spoiled the blood of Argentina in the group stage. Therefore, there is no doubt about the qualifications and fortitude of Iranian football players. 
2018 World Cup Qualifier: Africa
The results of the qualifying matches of the 2018 World Cup among African teams are much more interesting. Still, the level of teams from the "black continent" is much higher than that of the Asian teams.
During the 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" were two local grandees at once. However, according to the rules, only the winners of their baskets can reach the final of the World Cup. Therefore, willy-nilly, but either Cameroon or Nigeria will be left out of 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 successes in the football field are demonstrated by the Costa Rica team. Therefore, it is not surprising that all these three teams made it to the fifth qualifying round. They were also joined by three more teams with a high rating. 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 final of the World Cup, 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 a division into groups. All 10 members of CONMEBOL will play each other in a two-legged scheme: one match 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 team of Oceania. The list of all qualifying participants 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. The Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea… Oceania's 2018 World Cup qualifiers table rather evokes vague memories of school lessons geography than fan interest. However, even here, at the end of the world, there is football. most professional team counts New Zealand. This team, by the way, can be seen at the Confederations Cup 2018, which will be held in Russia.
In view of the depressing level of local teams, the best team that passed through the sieve of three qualifying rounds, receives only the opportunity to play in the play-off with the 5th team from South America as a reward. The winner of the fight will go to the World Cup.
Qualifiers: Europe
Objectively, this is the strongest continental cluster. 54 teams are traditionally divided into 9 groups. The winners of the basket receive a direct ticket to the World Cup, and 8 best second teams play each other play-offs. That's 4 more tickets.
The draw for the group round among the 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 pot A, it will be interesting to watch the struggle between the silver finalists of France 2016 EURO 2016 and the Dutch team, which is going through a painful generational change. Will the not-quite “clockwork orange” be able to cope with the young and ambitious Gallic cockerel?
Group G will meet recent rivals in the 1/8 finals of the 2016 European Championship - the national teams of Spain and Italy. Who is stronger: the Spaniards, who have set a course for the construction of a new young team, or the Italian destructive machine? In general, more than enough intrigue!
Afterword
In 2018, we are waiting for two grandiose events - and the World Cup. But if the Olympics are just an aftertaste after Sochi, then the world championship will take place literally outside our windows. Therefore, we have the right to know who will trample Russian lawns in 2018. How are things in Tahiti? Does Honduras qualify? Is there a chance for Burkina Faso to reach the final of the World Cup? For the real fan home championship These are not idle questions!
| the date of the | March 12, 2015 – November 14, 2016 |
| Participating teams and | 208 (applied) teams, divided into 6 territorial clusters:
|
| Rookie Teams | South Sudan; Kosovo; Butane; Gibraltar. |
| Total number of teams (according to the results of the qualifying tournament) | 31 (together with host country Russia - 32) |
The 21st FIFA World Cup is scheduled from June 14, 2018 to July 15, 2018 in Russia. There are 32 teams in the tournament, which include Russia and the other 31 teams that have topped the qualifiers. The 6 FIFA confederations have organized a series of tournaments to select the candidates who will participate in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. FIFA confederations held tournaments in their regions - in Europe, Asia, South America, North America, Africa and Oceania.
Qualifications - how they happen
The qualification process for the 2018 FIFA World Cup consisted of a series of tournaments in which all 210 FIFA member countries could participate. These tournaments were organized by the six FIFA confederations and 31 of the 32 countries selected for the 2018 FIFA World Cup were the winners. The 32nd country, Russia, is the host country and qualifies automatically without having to participate in qualifying matches. Charts for qualifying rounds were appointed by lot.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers were exciting as the teams registered for the qualifiers 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 various reasons.
Regions
The six FIFA confederations are the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Asian football confederation(AFC), South American Football Federation (CONMEBOL), Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Football Federation (KONCACAF), Confederation African football(CAF) and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC).
The Confederation of African Football, a member of FIFA, holds a preliminary competition for the five allocated places. Teams competing for five places: 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 African Football Confederation member states, could not participate as the Zimbabwe Football Union was suspended for failing to pay unemployment benefits former coach national team.
Qualifying matches were held in three rounds. All teams competed in the first two rounds, from 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. The five African countries that have qualified are Tunisia, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal and Egypt.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has 4.5 seats, four seats and one for the playoffs among the two continents.
46 member countries of the AFC participated in the qualifying tournaments, and the matches lasted more than five rounds. The AFC itself is a conglomerate of many football federations. The West Asian 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 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 12 lowest ranked teams entered the first round. The top six teams advanced to the next round, which was 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 qualified for 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 qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The two teams fighting for third place advanced to the fourth round.
In the fourth round, the two third-place teams battled it out 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 qualified for the World Cup by defeating Honduras.
The 54 members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), FIFA's confederation, were divided into nine groups of six teams each, and all teams played matches against each other in a round robin 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 nation, automatically qualifies. In addition, the top eight runners-up also advance to the next round. UEFA members are: 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 topped nine groups and qualified directly for the World Cup. Among the runners-up, Croatia, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland won the play-off and qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Among the teams participating in the qualifiers, Iceland 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. Member States of CONCACAF 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, Curaçao, 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, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States Virgin Islands.
There were five rounds in the extensive qualifying tournaments run by CONCACAF. The first three rounds were played in a playoff format, while the fourth and final round 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 teams that were higher in the rankings. Twelve teams repeated the selection again and the top six teams advanced to the fourth round.
In the fourth round, the six teams were joined by another six who qualified in the third round. The six teams or top two teams in each group advanced to the fifth and final round.
In the fifth and final round, six teams competed against each other in two matches: one at home and one away. 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, among the top three teams, qualified for the championship in Russia. A 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 contrary, participates in the World Cup for the first time.
CONMEBOL, the South American Football Federation and the FIFA affiliate also host FIFA World Cup qualification. Qualifying Tournament for FIFA 2018 consisted of matches with double round robins, and took place in nine matches of two rounds. Each team plays twice in each round, with one home and one away match.
The ten member states of CONMEBOL are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia preliminary stage has four and a half seats for South America. While Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina qualified through the pre-qualifiers, Peru qualified after beating New Zealand for the Intercontinental Playoffs.
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), an affiliate of FIFA, hosts FIFA World Cup qualification. For thirteen participants, OFC allocates only 0.5 places or an international playoff.
The thirteen members are New Zealand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, American Samoa, Cook Island, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, French Polynesia Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Notably, Australia is not in the OFC. In 2006, the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) left the OFC and became a member of the Asian Football Confederation.
The tournament is held in three rounds. The first round, which was played in a round robin format, featured the top four ranked teams: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga, with the winner advancing to the second round.
The winner of the first round joined seven other teams: Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu. This round had four teams in each group. Three the best 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 two matches, with the winner advancing to the playoffs with Peru.
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