2018 World Cup qualifying draw
Xinhua, July 26, 2015 Adjust font size:
Following are the qualifying draw conducted in St Petersburg, Russia on Saturday evening for the 2018 World Cup, to be played in Russia from June 14-July 15:
EUROPE (13 nations qualify, Russia also qualifies as host)
Sept. 4, 2016, to Oct. 10, 2017
Group winners qualify
Top eight second-place teams advance to playoffs
Group A: Belarus, Bulgaria, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden
Group B: Andorra, Faeroe Islands, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, Switzerland
Group C: Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Germany, Northern Ireland, Norway, San Marino
Group D: Austria, Georgia, Ireland, Moldova, Serbia, Wales
Group E: Armenia, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Montenegro, Romania
Group F: England, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia
Group G: Albania, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Spain
Group H: Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece
Group I: Croatia, Finland, Iceland, Turkey, Ukraine
Playoffs
Nov. 9-14, 2017
Winners qualify
SOUTH AMERICA (4 or 5 nations qualify)
Sept. 4, 2016, to Oct. 10, 2017
One group of 10 nations, double round robin
Top four teams qualify, fifth-place team advances to playoff vs. Oceania
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN (3 or 4 nations qualify)
Third round
Aug. 31 to Sept. 8, 2015
Winners advance
Antigua and Barbuda vs Guatemala
Canada vs Belize
Curacao vs El Salvador
Grenada vs Haiti
Jamaica vs Nicaragua
St. Vincent and the Grenadines vs Aruba
Fourth round
Nov. 7, 2015, to Sept. 6, 2016
Double round robin
Top two teams in each group advance
Group A: Canada-Belize winner, Curacao-El Salvador winner, Honduras, Mexico
Group B: Costa Rica, Grenada-Haiti winner, Jamaica-Nicaragua winner, Panama
Group C: Antigua and Barbuda-Guatemala winner, St. Vincent and the Grenadines-Aruba winner, Trinidad and Tobago, United States
Fifth round (Hexagonal)
Nov. 7, 2016, to Oct. 10, 2017
Double round robin
Top three teams qualify, fourth-place team advances to playoff vs Asia
ASIA (4 or 5 nations qualify)
Second round
June 11, 2015, to March 29, 2016
Double round robin (drawn April 14)
Group winners and top four second-place teams advance
Group A: East Timor, Malaysia, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
Group B: Australia, Bangladesh, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
Group C: Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, China, Maldives, Qatar
Group D: Guam, India, Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan
Group E: Afghanistan, Cambodia, Japan, Singapore, Syria
Group F: Iraq, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Vietnam (Indonesia disqualified)
Group G: Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Myanmar, South Korea
Group H: Bahrain, DPR Korea, Philippines, Uzbekistan, Yemen
Third round
Aug. 29, 2016, to Sept. 5, 2017
Two groups of six
Double round robin
Top two teams in each group qualify, third-place teams advance to playoff
Fourth round
Oct. 2-10, 2017
Winner advances to playoff vs CONCACAF
AFRICA (5 nations qualify)
First round
Oct. 5-13, 2015
Winners advance
Central African Republic vs Madagascar
Chad vs Sierra Leone
Comoros vs Lesotho
Djibouti vs Swaziland
Eritrea vs Botswana
Gambia vs Namibia
Liberia vs Guinea-Bissau
Mauritius vs Kenya
Sao Tome e Principe vs Ethiopia
Seychelles vs Burundi
Somalia vs Niger
South Sudan vs Mauritania
Tanzania vs Malawi
Second round
Nov. 9-17, 2015
Winners advance
Angola vs South Africa
Benin vs Burkina Faso
Central African Republic-Madagascar winner vs Senegal
Chad-Sierra Leone winner vs Egypt
Comoros-Lesotho winner vs Ghana
Djibouti-Swaziland winner vs Nigeria
Eritrea-Botswana winner vs Mali
Gambia-Namibia winner vs Guinea
Liberia-Guinea-Bissau winner vs Cote d'Ivoire
Libya vs Rwanda
Mauritius-Kenya winner vs Cape Verde Islands
Morocco vs Equatorial Guinea
Mozambique vs Gabon
Sao Tome e Principe-Ethiopia winner vs Republic of Congo
Seychelles-Burundi winner vs Congo
Somalia-Niger winner vs Cameroon
South Sudan-Mauritania winner vs Tunisia
Sudan vs Zambia
Tanzania-Malawi winner vs Algeria
Togo vs Uganda
Third round
Oct. 3, 2016, to Nov. 14, 2017
Five groups of four, double round robin
Group winners qualify
Oceania (0 or 1 nation qualifies)
First round
Aug. 31 to Sept. 4, 2015
Round robin, group winner advances
American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga
Second round
May 28 to June 12, 2015
Two groups of four, top three teams in each group advance
Group A: New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, Round One winner
Group B: Fiji, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu
Third round
March 20 to Oct. 10, 2017
Two groups of three, group winners meet home and away, series winner advances to playoff vs South America. Endi