2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)

The European section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which was held in Russia, for national teams that are members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Apart from Russia, who qualified automatically as hosts, a total of 13 slots in the final tournament were available for UEFA teams.[1]

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Tournament details
Dates4 September 2016 – 14 November 2017
Teams54 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played278
Goals scored807 (2.9 per match)
Attendance5,866,771 (21,103 per match)
Top scorer(s) Robert Lewandowski (16 goals)
UEFA European Qualifiers
FIFA World Cup
UEFA European Championship

The qualifying format was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee meeting on 22–23 March 2015 in Vienna.[2][3]

The qualification process started on 4 September 2016, almost two months after UEFA Euro 2016, and ended on 14 November 2017. Belgium, England, France, Germany, Iceland (for the first time), Poland, Portugal, Serbia, and Spain qualified in the first round by winning their groups. Croatia, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland qualified by winning their playoffs.

Four-time champions Italy did not qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, missed out on qualification for the first time since 1958 after losing in the playoffs to Sweden,[4] while the three-time FIFA World Cup runners-up Netherlands did not qualify for the tournament for the first time since 2002 after finishing third in 2014,[5] and second in 2010. Iceland, with 335,000 inhabitants, became the smallest country ever to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[6]

Entrants

Apart from Russia, which qualified automatically as hosts, all remaining 52 FIFA-affiliated national teams from UEFA at the registration deadline of January 2015 entered qualification.[7]

Gibraltar, despite being a UEFA member since 2013, was not a FIFA member at the time of the registration deadline, and thus was not eligible to enter qualification for the FIFA World Cup. They appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge FIFA's refusal to grant membership in order to enter World Cup qualifying.[8] In May 2016, the CAS found in Gibraltar's favour and ordered that FIFA put Gibraltar forward for FIFA membership, which would permit Gibraltar to take part in the qualifiers if membership was granted.[9]

Kosovo became a UEFA member on 3 May 2016, and together with Gibraltar, applied for membership in the FIFA Congress in 12–13 May 2016. FIFA confirmed that in the case both associations succeeded in becoming a member, they would be entitled to participate in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, with UEFA tasked to integrate them into the competition.[10]

On 13 May 2016, both Kosovo and Gibraltar were officially admitted as FIFA members, thus allowing them to compete.[11] UEFA created a task force to discuss how to integrate the two teams into the competition,[12] and on 9 June 2016 UEFA announced that Kosovo would be assigned to Group I, to avoid meeting Bosnia and Herzegovina for security reasons, and Gibraltar would play in Group H.[13][14]

Format

The qualification structure was as follows:[3][15]

  • First round (group stage): The 54 teams were divided into nine groups of six teams each to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The winners of each group qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the eight best runners-up advanced to the second round (play-offs).
  • Second round (play-offs): The eight best runners-up from the first round played against one other team over two legs, home and away. The draw for these matches was held on 17 October 2017. The first legs were played on 9–11 November, and the second legs were played on 12–14 November 2017. The winners of each tie qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Qualifying matches started in September 2016, following UEFA Euro 2016, and finished in November 2017.[3][16]

Round Matchday Date
First round
(group stage)		 Matchday 1 4–6 September 2016
Matchday 2 6–8 October 2016
Matchday 3 9–11 October 2016
Matchday 4 11–13 November 2016
Matchday 5 24–26 March 2017
Matchday 6 9–11 June 2017
Matchday 7 31 August – 2 September 2017
Matchday 8 3–5 September 2017
Matchday 9 5–7 October 2017
Matchday 10 8–10 October 2017
Round Matchday Date
Second round
(play-offs)		 First leg 9–11 November 2017
Second leg 12–14 November 2017

The scheduling of qualifying matches, which were centralised by UEFA, followed the "Week of Football" concept first used for UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying:[17]

  • Matches take place from Thursday to Tuesday.
  • Kick-off times are largely set at 18:00 and 20:45 CET/CEST on Saturdays and Sundays, and 20:45 CET/CEST on Thursdays, Fridays, Mondays and Tuesdays.
  • On double-header matchweeks, teams play on Thursday and Sunday, or Friday and Monday, or Saturday and Tuesday.
  • Matches in the same group are played on the same day.

The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 26 July 2015, the day following the draw.[16][18]

Qualification group stage

Seeding

The draw for the first round (group stage) was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.[16][19]

The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of July 2015. The 52 teams were seeded into six pots:

  • Pot 1 contains the teams ranked 1–9.
  • Pot 2 contains the teams ranked 10–18.
  • Pot 3 contains the teams ranked 19–27.
  • Pot 4 contains the teams ranked 28–36.
  • Pot 5 contains the teams ranked 37–45.
  • Pot 6 contains the teams ranked 46–52.

Each six-team group contained one team from each of the six pots, while each five-team group contained one team from each of the first five pots.[16]

Due to the centralisation of media rights for European qualifiers, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands were all drawn into six-team groups. Netherlands and France were drawn together in Group A, and Spain and Italy were drawn together in Group G.[16]

In consideration of the delicate political situations of the relationships between Armenia and Azerbaijan, UEFA requested that FIFA maintain the current UEFA policy not to draw these teams into the same qualification groups (since the two teams were in the same seeding pot, this would not have happened regardless of the request).[16]

Teams were allocated to seeding pots as follows (July 2015 FIFA Rankings shown in second column; the national teams which eventually qualified for the final tournament are presented in bold; the national teams who took part in the play-offs are presented in italic).[20]

Pot 1
TeamPos
 Germany2
 Belgium3
 Netherlands5
 Portugal7
 Romania8
 England9
 Wales10
 Spain12
 Croatia14
Pot 2
TeamPos
 Slovakia15
 Austria15
 Italy17
  Switzerland18
 Czech Republic20
 France22
 Iceland23
 Denmark24
 Bosnia and Herzegovina26
Pot 3
TeamPos
 Ukraine27
 Scotland29
 Poland30
 Hungary31
 Sweden33
 Albania36
 Northern Ireland37
 Serbia43
 Greece44
Pot 4
TeamPos
 Turkey48
 Slovenia49
 Israel51
 Republic of Ireland52
 Norway67
 Bulgaria68
 Faroe Islands74
 Montenegro81
 Estonia82
Pot 5
TeamPos
 Cyprus85
 Latvia87
 Armenia89
 Finland90
 Belarus100
 Macedonia105
 Azerbaijan108
 Lithuania110
 Moldova124
Pot 6
TeamPos
 Kazakhstan142
 Luxembourg146
 Liechtenstein147
 Georgia153
 Malta158
 San Marino192
 Andorra202

The football associations of Gibraltar and Kosovo became members of FIFA following the draw but before any games had been played. As both associations became eligible to compete in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, on 9 June 2016 it was decided Gibraltar would join Group H and Kosovo would join Group I, the only groups with five teams. In addition, it was decided that Kosovo could not play against Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia for security reasons, due to the disputed political status of Kosovo.[13][14][21] Gibraltar and Spain had previously been kept separate from each other in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying as a result of the disputed status of Gibraltar.[22] All nine groups then had six teams.[13][14]

The hosts Russia were to be partnered with five-team Group H for friendlies.[23] However, with the admission of Kosovo and Gibraltar, all groups were filled to contain six teams and the Russia friendlies against Group H teams were cancelled. UEFA vice-president Hryhoriy Surkis said that the UEFA management would deal with the issue of finding opponents for Russia to play friendlies.[24]

Summary
  Winner of each group qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup
  The eight best runners-up among all nine groups advanced to the second round (play-offs)
  Other teams were eliminated after the first round
Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H Group I

France
Portugal
Germany
Serbia
Poland
England
Spain
Belgium
Iceland

Sweden
Switzerland
Northern Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Denmark
Slovakia
Italy
Greece
Croatia

Netherlands

Bulgaria

Luxembourg

Belarus
Hungary

Faroe Islands

Latvia

Andorra
Czech Republic

Norway

Azerbaijan

San Marino
Wales

Austria

Georgia

Moldova
Montenegro

Romania

Armenia

Kazakhstan
Scotland

Slovenia

Lithuania

Malta
Albania

Israel

Macedonia

Liechtenstein
Bosnia and Herzegovina

Estonia

Cyprus

Gibraltar
Ukraine

Turkey

Finland

Kosovo

Groups

Group 1
Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  France 10 7 2 1 18 6 +12 23 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 2–1 4–0 4–1 0–0 2–1
2  Sweden 10 6 1 3 26 9 +17 19 Advance to second round 2–1 — 1–1 3–0 8–0 4–0
3  Netherlands 10 6 1 3 21 12 +9 19 0–1 2–0 — 3–1 5–0 4–1
4  Bulgaria 10 4 1 5 14 19 −5 13 0–1 3–2 2–0 — 4–3 1–0
5  Luxembourg 10 1 3 6 8 26 −18 6 1–3 0–1 1–3 1–1 — 1–0
6  Belarus 10 1 2 7 6 21 −15 5 0–0 0–4 1–3 2–1 1–1 —
Source: FIFA

Group 2
Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Portugal 10 9 0 1 32 4 +28 27 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 2–0 3–0 5–1 4–1 6–0
2   Switzerland 10 9 0 1 23 7 +16 27 Advance to second round 2–0 — 5–2 2–0 1–0 3–0
3  Hungary 10 4 1 5 14 14 0 13 0–1 2–3 — 1–0 3–1 4–0
4  Faroe Islands 10 2 3 5 4 16 −12 9 0–6 0–2 0–0 — 0–0 1–0
5  Latvia 10 2 1 7 7 18 −11 7 0–3 0–3 0–2 0–2 — 4−0
6  Andorra 10 1 1 8 2 23 −21 4 0–2 1–2 1–0 0–0 0–1 —
Source: FIFA

Group 3
Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 10 10 0 0 43 4 +39 30 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 2–0 3–0 6–0 5–1 7–0
2  Northern Ireland 10 6 1 3 17 6 +11 19 Advance to second round 1–3 — 2–0 2–0 4–0 4–0
3  Czech Republic 10 4 3 3 17 10 +7 15 1–2 0–0 — 2–1 0–0 5–0
4  Norway 10 4 1 5 17 16 +1 13 0–3 1–0 1–1 — 2–0 4–1
5  Azerbaijan 10 3 1 6 10 19 −9 10 1–4 0–1 1–2 1–0 — 5–1
6  San Marino 10 0 0 10 2 51 −49 0 0–8 0–3 0–6 0–8 0–1 —
Source: FIFA

Group 4
Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Serbia 10 6 3 1 20 10 +10 21 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 2–2 1–1 3–2 1–0 3–0
2  Republic of Ireland 10 5 4 1 12 6 +6 19 Advance to second round 0–1 — 0–0 1–1 1–0 2–0
3  Wales 10 4 5 1 13 6 +7 17 1–1 0–1 — 1–0 1–1 4–0
4  Austria 10 4 3 3 14 12 +2 15 3–2 0–1 2–2 — 1–1 2–0
5  Georgia 10 0 5 5 8 14 −6 5 1–3 1–1 0–1 1–2 — 1–1
6  Moldova 10 0 2 8 4 23 −19 2 0–3 1–3 0–2 0–1 2–2 —
Source: FIFA

Group 5
Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group E
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Poland 10 8 1 1 28 14 +14 25 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 3–2 4–2 3–1 2–1 3–0
2  Denmark 10 6 2 2 20 8 +12 20 Advance to second round 4–0 — 0–1 1–1 1–0 4–1
3  Montenegro 10 5 1 4 20 12 +8 16 1–2 0–1 — 1–0 4–1 5–0
4  Romania 10 3 4 3 12 10 +2 13 0–3 0–0 1–1 — 1–0 3–1
5  Armenia 10 2 1 7 10 26 −16 7 1–6 1–4 3–2 0–5 — 2–0
6  Kazakhstan 10 0 3 7 6 26 −20 3 2–2 1–3 0–3 0–0 1–1 —
Source: FIFA

Group 6
Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group F
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  England 10 8 2 0 18 3 +15 26 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 2–1 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–0
2  Slovakia 10 6 0 4 17 7 +10 18 0–1 — 3–0 1–0 4–0 3–0
3  Scotland 10 5 3 2 17 12 +5 18 2–2 1–0 — 1–0 1–1 2–0
4  Slovenia 10 4 3 3 12 7 +5 15 0–0 1–0 2–2 — 4–0 2–0
5  Lithuania 10 1 3 6 7 20 −13 6 0–1 1–2 0–3 2–2 — 2–0
6  Malta 10 0 1 9 3 25 −22 1 0–4 1–3 1–5 0–1 1–1 —
Source: FIFA

Group 7
Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group G
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 10 9 1 0 36 3 +33 28 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 3–0 3–0 4–1 4–0 8–0
2  Italy 10 7 2 1 21 8 +13 23 Advance to second round 1–1 — 2–0 1–0 1–1 5–0
3  Albania 10 4 1 5 10 13 −3 13 0–2 0–1 — 0–3 2–1 2–0
4  Israel 10 4 0 6 10 15 −5 12 0–1 1–3 0–3 — 0–1 2–1
5  Macedonia 10 3 2 5 15 15 0 11 1–2 2–3 1–1 1–2 — 4–0
6  Liechtenstein 10 0 0 10 1 39 −38 0 0–8 0–4 0–2 0–1 0–3 —
Source: FIFA

Group 8
Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group H
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Belgium 10 9 1 0 43 6 +37 28 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 1–1 4–0 8–1 4–0 9–0
2  Greece 10 5 4 1 17 6 +11 19 Advance to second round 1–2 — 1–1 0–0 2–0 4–0
3  Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 5 2 3 24 13 +11 17 3–4 0–0 — 5–0 2–0 5–0
4  Estonia 10 3 2 5 13 19 −6 11 0–2 0–2 1–2 — 1–0 4–0
5  Cyprus 10 3 1 6 9 18 −9 10 0–3 1–2 3–2 0–0 — 3–1
6  Gibraltar 10 0 0 10 3 47 −44 0 0–6 1–4 0–4 0–6 1–2 —
Source: FIFA

Group 9
Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group I
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iceland 10 7 1 2 16 7 +9 22 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 2–0 2–0 3–2 2–0
2  Croatia 10 6 2 2 15 4 +11 20 Advance to second round 2–0 — 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–0
3  Ukraine 10 5 2 3 13 9 +4 17 1–1 0–2 — 2–0 1–0 3–0
4  Turkey 10 4 3 3 14 13 +1 15 0–3 1–0 2–2 — 2–0 2–0
5  Finland 10 2 3 5 9 13 −4 9 1–0 0–1 1–2 2–2 — 1–1
6  Kosovo 10 0 1 9 3 24 −21 1 1–2 0–6 0–2 1–4 0–1 —
Source: FIFA

Ranking of second-placed teams

When the draw was made groups H and I had one team fewer than the other groups so it was decided that matches against the last-placed team in each of the six-team groups would not be included in the ranking of the second-placed teams. Even after the admission of Kosovo and Gibraltar, and with all groups now containing six teams, this rule did not change and matches against the sixth-placed team in all groups were still discarded.[26] As a result, only eight matches played by each team were counted in the second-placed table.

The eight best runners-up were determined by the following parameters, in this order:[27]

  1. Highest number of points
  2. Goal difference
  3. Highest number of goals scored
  4. Fair play points
  5. Drawing of lots
Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B   Switzerland 8 7 0 1 18 6 +12 21 Advance to second round (play-offs)
2 G  Italy 8 5 2 1 12 8 +4 17
3 E  Denmark 8 4 2 2 13 6 +7 14
4 I  Croatia 8 4 2 2 8 4 +4 14
5 A  Sweden 8 4 1 3 18 9 +9 13
6 C  Northern Ireland 8 4 1 3 10 6 +4 13
7 H  Greece 8 3 4 1 9 5 +4 13
8 D  Republic of Ireland 8 3 4 1 7 5 +2 13
9 F  Slovakia 8 4 0 4 11 6 +5 12
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Counting only matches against teams ranked first to fifth in the group, 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Fair play points; 5) Drawing of lots.[28][27]

Second round
Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round

The eight best group runners-up contested the second round, where they were paired into four two-legged (home-and-away) fixtures.

Seeding and draw

The draw for the second round (play-offs) was held on 17 October 2017, 14:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland.[29] The eight teams were seeded by FIFA World Rankings published on 16 October 2017, rather than qualifying record, with the top four teams in Pot 1, and the remaining four teams in Pot 2. It so happened that the top four teams by qualifying record were the same as the top four by FIFA World Ranking. Teams from Pot 1 played teams from Pot 2 on a home and away basis, with the order of legs decided by draw.

Pot 1 Pot 2

  Switzerland (11)
 Italy (15)
 Croatia (18)
 Denmark (19)

 Northern Ireland (23)
 Sweden (25)
 Republic of Ireland (26)
 Greece (47)

Matches

The first legs were played on 9–11 November, and the second legs were played on 12–14 November 2017. The winners of each tie qualified for the World Cup.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Northern Ireland  0–1   Switzerland 0–1 0–0
Croatia  4–1  Greece 4–1 0–0
Denmark  5–1  Republic of Ireland 0–0 5–1
Sweden  1–0  Italy 1–0 0–0

Qualified teams

The following 14 teams from UEFA qualified for the final tournament.

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup1
 RussiaHosts2 December 201010 (19582, 19622, 19662, 19702, 19822, 19862, 19902, 1994, 2002, 2014)
 FranceGroup A winners10 October 201714 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
 PortugalGroup B winners10 October 20176 (1966, 1986, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
 GermanyGroup C winners5 October 201718 (1934, 1938, 19543, 19583, 19623, 19663, 19703, 19743, 19783, 19823, 19863, 19903, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
 SerbiaGroup D winners9 October 201711 (19304, 19504, 19544, 19584, 19624, 19744, 19824, 19904, 19984, 20064, 2010)
 PolandGroup E winners8 October 20177 (1938, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2006)
 EnglandGroup F winners5 October 201714 (1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
 SpainGroup G winners6 October 201714 (1934, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
 BelgiumGroup H winners3 September 201712 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2014)
 IcelandGroup I winners9 October 20170 (debut)
  SwitzerlandSecond round (play-off) winners12 November 201710 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1994, 2006, 2010, 2014)
 CroatiaSecond round (play-off) winners12 November 20174 (1998, 2002, 2006, 2014)
 DenmarkSecond round (play-off) winners14 November 20174 (1986, 1998, 2002, 2010)
 SwedenSecond round (play-off) winners13 November 201711 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 2002, 2006)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
2 Competed as Soviet Union.
3 Competed as West Germany. A separate team for East Germany also participated in qualifications during this time, having only competed in 1974.
4 From 1930 to 2006, Serbia competed as Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro.

Top goalscorers
16 goals
15 goals
11 goals
9 goals
8 goals
7 goals
6 goals

For full lists of goalscorers, see sections in each group:

Branding

UEFA unveiled the branding for the qualifiers on 15 April 2013. It shows a national jersey inside a heart, and represents Europe, honour and ambition. The same branding was also used for the European qualifiers for the UEFA Euro 2016.[30]

Broadcasting
Main article: UEFA European Qualifiers broadcasting rights

Sponsors

References
  1. "Current allocation of FIFA World Cup™ confederation slots maintained". FIFA.com. 30 May 2015.
  2. "Executive Committee date in Vienna". UEFA.org. 21 March 2015.
  3. "New distribution concept for club competitions approved". UEFA.org. 23 March 2015.
  4. AFP. "Italy Miss Out on FIFA World Cup For the First Time Since 1958". News 18. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  5. "A win for the Netherlands, but not enough to secure World Cup qualification". Sydney Morning Herald. 11 October 2017. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017.
  6. "Iceland become smallest nation ever to qualify for World Cup finals". The Guadian. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  7. "Road to Russia with new milestone". FIFA.com. 15 January 2015.
  8. "Gibraltar appeal to court for Fifa recognition to enter World Cup qualifying". The Guardian. 12 February 2015.
  9. "Ruling Moves Gibraltar Closer to FIFA Membership". New York Times. 2 May 2016.
  10. "FIFA Council agrees on four-phase bidding process for 2026 FIFA World Cup". FIFA.com. 10 May 2016.
  11. "Kosovo, Gibraltar join FIFA before 2018 World Cup qualifying". Washington Post. 13 May 2016.
  12. "Timeline for UEFA Presidential elections decided". UEFA. 18 May 2016.
  13. "Kosovo to play in Group I in European Qualifiers". uefa.org. Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). 9 June 2016.
  14. "Kosovo and Gibraltar assigned to 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying groups". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). 9 June 2016.
  15. "Draw Procedures – European Zone" (PDF). FIFA.com.
  16. "FIFA World Cup qualifying draw format". UEFA.com. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2016.
  17. "UEFA announces deals for European qualifiers". UEFA.org. 10 April 2013.
  18. "World Cup European Qualifiers fixtures confirmed". UEFA.com. 26 July 2015.
  19. "European teams learn World Cup qualifying fate". UEFA.com. 25 July 2015.
  20. "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – July 2015 (UEFA)". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  21. "Gibraltar komt in kwalificatiegroep van Rode Duivels voor WK" (in Dutch). 9 June 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  22. "Gibraltar and Spain kept apart in Euro 2016 draw". Reuters via Yahoo Sports. 24 January 2014.
  23. "Commercial regulations for the European qualifying matches for UEFA EURO 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup" (PDF). UEFA.com.
  24. "UEFA sets up commission on Kosovo, Gibraltar participation in 2018 World Cup qualifiers". tass.ru. Russian News Agency TASS. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  25. "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com.
  26. "Focus switches to World Cup qualifying". UEFA.com. 22 August 2016.
  27. "As it stands: ranking of second-placed teams". UEFA.com. 3 October 2017.
  28. "Competition format - FIFA World Cup - News - UEFA.com". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  29. "FIFA World Cup European play-off draw to take place on 17 October". FIFA.com. 6 September 2017.
  30. "European qualifiers branding launched". UEFA. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
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