World Cup 2018: Teams await qualifying draw

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Most Fifa members around the world, with the exception of Russia and the Asian members, are to find out today what teams they will face for the 2018 World Cup qualification.

Gibraltar, a member of Uefa (which is why it's taking part in the Euro 2016 qualifying), is not a member of FIFA so will not be taking part. Russia, as the host nation, qualifies for the tournament automatically so will also not be taking part in the qualifying.

208 Fifa members are to take part in qualifying for the 21st FIFA World Cup including, for the first time, Bhutan and South Sudan. 141 nations are to take part in today's draw.

Four of the FIFA members who are to find out today what teams they will face including, of course, the UK's four sides: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

England and Wales - ranked 9th and 10th in the world respectively - are two of the top seeds in the European (Uefa) section of the qualifying, but that means that, whilst they cannot be drawn in the same group as each other, each could end up being drawn in the same group as either France (ranked 22nd in the world) or Italy (ranked 17th in the world), each of whom are second seeds. One side from each seed goes into each group.

Despite the fact that the main qualification draw takes place today, qualifying matches have already taken place in the Asian section (AFC) of the qualifiers (which also includes Australia), so those teams involved in that will also not be part of this draw. The first goal of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers was scored by Chiquito do Carmo for Timor-Leste on 12th March in their 5-1 aggregate win over Mongolia.

World Cup 2018: Teams await qualifying draw in Russia

24 July 2015
BBC News

2018 World Cup draw

Venue: Konstantinovsky Palace, St Petersburg Date: 25 July from 16:00 BST
Coverage: Live on BBC Red Button and online; Live text commentary on BBC Sport website and app

The Home Nations will find out who they will face when the qualifying draw for the 2018 World Cup takes place on Saturday in St Petersburg, Russia.

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are among 141 nations who will be in the draw.

European sides will be placed into nine groups - seven with six teams and two of five sides - with Roy Hodgson's side knowing they will be in a pool of six.

The draw, at 16:00 BST, is live on the BBC Sport website and Red Button.

Konstantinovsky Palace, St Petersburg

How does the European draw work?

Russia have already qualified as hosts, and the other 52 member nations have been split into six pots based on Fifa's July rankings.

Gibraltar are not involved as they are not a member of Fifa, despite being a Uefa member.

The nine top seeds in Europe - including Wales and England - will first be drawn into a group. For TV rights purposes, England, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands will be drawn into groups of six teams, as will Italy and France from pot two.

A team from each of the other four or five pots will then be drawn into each group to make up the nine groups. Games will be played from September 2016 to October 2017.

The nine group winners will progress to the finals, while the eight best runners-up will take part in play-offs in November 2017.

The Fifa confederations of Africa, Oceania, South America and Concacaf (North, Central America and the Caribbean) will also be involved.

Germany are the holders of the World Cup after a 1-0 extra-time victory over Argentina in Brazil in 2014.

Fifa has announced that former Chelsea midfielder and Russia captain Alexey Smertin will replace Brazilian striker Hulk as a draw assistant "due to the Brazilian's club commitments" with Zenit St Petersburg.

Earlier this week Hulk said racism happens at "almost every game" in the Russian league.

The first game of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers was between Timor-Leste and Mongolia on 12th March, with Chiquito do Carmo scoring the first goal in a 4-1 victory for Timor-Leste over Mongolia. Timor-Leste went on to win the two-legged tie 5-1 on aggregate.

Watch video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=YirgxXuCSy0

What are the best - and worst - scenarios for the Home Nations?

As top seeds, England (currently ranked 9th in the world) and Wales (10th) have guaranteed avoiding the other top sides in Europe. Theoretically.

However, from pot two they could still face Italy (17th) or France (22nd), while trips to the likes of Sweden (33rd), Poland (30th) or Ukraine (27th) could prove tricky.

Wales, Northern Ireland (37th) and Scotland (29th) could be drawn into a group of five teams instead of six - which may help their chances.

England

Dream ticket:
England, Iceland, Albania, Faroe Islands, Moldova, Andorra

Nightmare scenario:
England, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, Finland, Kazakhstan

Wales

Dream ticket:
Wales, Bosnia & Hercegovina, Albania, Faroe Islands, Moldova

Nightmare scenario:
Wales, France, Ukraine, Turkey, Cyprus, Georgia

Scotland

Dream ticket:
Scotland, Wales, Iceland, Estonia, Lithuania

Nightmare scenario:
Scotland, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Macedonia, Kazakhstan

Northern Ireland

Dream ticket:
Northern Ireland, Romania, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Moldova

Nightmare scenario:
Northern Ireland, Spain, France, Republic of Ireland, Belarus, Malta


BBC Sport - World Cup 2018: Teams await qualifying draw in Russia

 

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The world's oldest and most-played international football fixture is to be played once again as both England and Scotland were drawn against each other in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

The two UK nations were drawn together in European qualifying Group F along with Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania and Malta.

England know all about Slovenia and Lithuania as the three teams are currently in the same Euro 2016 qualifying group.

Scotland manager Gordon Strachan, who spent years in England as a player and a manager, said the "whole of Scotland are roaring."

"From a supporters' point of view it's fantastic," he told BBC Scotland.

"It's the oldest fixture in the world, it's a fixture that I think both sets of fans enjoy the most."

The two rivals have not met in a competitive game since the Euro 2000 play-offs in 1999, which England won 2-1 on aggregate.

They have faced each other in recent years in friendlies; England winning 3-2 at Wembley in 2013 and again 3-1 at Celtic Park last year.

Their first ever meeting was the world's first international football match on 30th November (St Andrew's Day) 1872 at the West of Scotland Cricket Club in Partick, Glasgow, and the match ended 0-0.

As of November 2014, the two rivals have played 112 matches against each other, making it the most-played international football fixture; England have won 47, Scotland 41, and there have been 24 draws

As for the other two Home Nations, Northern Ireland have been given a tough test after they were drawn in Group C with world champions Germany, Czech Republic, Norway, Azerbaijan and San Marino.

Wales, who are ranked 10th in the world, their highest-ever ranking and one place below England, have been drawn in Group D with Austria, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Moldova and Georgia.

Meanwhile, in the CONCACAF region, Canada will have to beat another of Her Majesty's realms - Belize - over two legs in order to join CONCACAF qualifying Group A, along with Honduras, Mexico and either Curacao or El Salvador.

The USA, who have now slipped down to 34th in the world rankings, are in CONCACAF qualifying Group C along with Trinidad & Tobago, St Vincent & Grenadines or Aruba and Antigua & Barbuda or Guatemala.

Gordon Strachan: Scotland pleased with England draw

BBC Sport
25 July 2015

Even though the Scots will try hard to prevent it, England should feel confident of topping their qualifying group

Gordon Strachan said the "whole of Scotland are roaring" after they were drawn against England in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

The Scotland coach saw his side paired with Roy Hodgson's men, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania and Malta in their bid to reach the finals in Russia.

"From a supporters' point of view it's fantastic," he told BBC Scotland.

"It's the oldest fixture in the world, it's a fixture that I think both sets of fans enjoy the most."

The two rivals have not met in a competitive game since the Euro 2000 play-offs in 1999, which England won 2-1 on aggregate.

They have faced each other in recent years in friendlies; England winning 3-2 at Wembley in 2013 and again 3-1 at Celtic Park last year.

Strachan said: "The first game we knew the England team would be at 100% and we dealt with that and it was a good game, we could have got something from it.

"The next game when they deservedly won against us I think they showed what great teams can do when they have a bit of fear about them.

"They understood if they let us play then they could have been in for a long night. So they pressurised us, they got close to us, and they made it a difficult night for us.

"That's a great lesson for us because that's the England we're going to be playing against. They had the eye of the tiger that night and I'm glad now we played that game."

Scotland and England last met competitively in 1999 in two legs of a Euro 2000 playoff (above), which England won 2-1 on aggregate to qualify for the tournament in Netherlands and Belgium

Slovakia were drawn from the pot of second seeds, and although it meant avoiding heavyweights France and Italy, the Slovaks have defeated Spain on their way to topping their Euro 2016 qualifying group.

"I think they're a bit like ourselves where they're not blessed with world class players, but they're blessed with good team players," said Strachan.

"Because of that they know their shape when they turn up, they know they have to work hard, again, similar to us in the way they go about their business.

"From a coach's point of view, the other teams, we've not locked horns with these teams before, we've never been in these stadiums. It's nice and fresh for us.

"The last two groups we've been involved in have been incredibly difficult."

The fixture dates are still to be confirmed, with the qualification campaign due to begin in the autumn of 2016.

"You never know what's coming, 18 months, a year, is a long time in football," added Strachan.

Who the home nations will play

Group C: Germany, Czech Republic, NORTHERN IRELAND, Norway, Azerbaijan, San Marino
Group D: WALES, Austria, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Moldova, Georgia
Group F: ENGLAND, Slovakia, SCOTLAND, Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta

World Cup 2018: Qualifying draw in full

The draw for the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign took place in St Petersburg, Russia, on Saturday.

The Fifa confederations of Africa, Oceania, South America, Concacaf (North, Central America and the Caribbean) and Europe were drawn. Qualifying has already started in Asia.

Europe

Group A
Netherlands, France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg

Group B
Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra

Group C
Germany, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway, Azerbaijan, San Marino

Group D
Wales , Austria, Serbia, Republic of Ireland, Moldova, Georgia

Group E
Romania, Denmark, Poland, Montenegro, Armenia, Kazakhstan

Group F
England, Slovakia, Scotland, Slovenia, Lithuania, Malta

Group G
Spain, Italy, Albania, Israel, FYR Macedonia, Liechtenstein

Group H
Belgium, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus

Group I
Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland

Nine group winners qualify. Eight runners-up with the best record against the teams first, third, fourth and fifth in their groups proceed to play-offs. Russia automatically qualify as hosts.

Africa

Round one

Two-legged ties, played 5 October and 13 October.

Somalia v Niger, South Sudan v Mauritania, Gambia v Namibia, Sao Tome e Principe v Ethiopia, Chad v Sierra Leone, Comoros v Lesotho, Dijibouti v Swaziland, Eritrea v Botswana, Seychelles v Burundi, Liberia v Guinea-Bissau, Central African Republic v Madagascar, Mauritius v Kenya, Tanzania v Malawi

Round two

Two-legged ties, played 9 November and 17 November.

Somalia/Niger v Cameroon, South Sudan/Mauritania v Tunisia, Gambia/Namibia v Guinea, Sao Tome e Principe/Ethiopia v Congo, Chad/Sierra Leone v Egypt, Comoros/Lesotho v Ghana, Djibouti/Swaziland v Nigeria, Eritrea/Botswana v Mali, Seychelles/Burundi v Congo DR, Liberia/Guinea-Bissau v Ivory Coast, Central African Republic/Madagascar v Senegal, Mauritius/Kenya v Cape Verde, Tanzania/Malawi v Algeria, Sudan v Zambia, Libya v Rwanda, Morocco v Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique v Gabon, Benin v Burkina Faso, Togo v Uganda, Angola v South Africa

The 20 winners from the second round will go into a third round comprising five groups of four. The winners of each group qualify for the World Cup.

Concacaf

Third round
Two-legged ties, played from 31 August to 8 September.

Curacao v El Salvador, Canada v Belize, Grenada v Haiti, Jamaica v Nicaragua, St Vincent & Grenadines v Aruba, Antigua & Barbuda v Guatemala

Group A
Honduras, Mexico, Curacao/El Salvador, Canada/Belize

Group B
Panama, Costa Rica, Grenada/Haiti, Jamaica/Nicaragua

Group C
Trinidad & Tobago, USA, St Vincent & Grenadines/Aruba, Antigua & Barbuda/Guatemala

The top two teams from each group will play in a six-team mini-league. The top three qualify and the fourth goes into an inter-continental play-off.

Oceania

Round one (group stage)

American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga

Round two (group stage)

Group A
Winner of round one between American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga. Plus Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Tahiti

Group B
New Zealand, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands

The top three teams in Group A and Group B progress to round three. That will comprise of two groups of three, with the top team in each progressing to a two-legged play-off. The winners of that qualify for the inter-continental play-off.

South America

Group stage

Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay

Top four automatically qualify. Fifth place goes into a play-off.


BBC Sport - World Cup 2018: Qualifying draw in full