2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Spain vs Russia
In the 12th minute, Marco Asensio's free-kick from deep on the right saw Sergei Ignashevich grappling with Sergio Ramos at the back post, the ball bouncing past Igor Akinfeev off the defender's heel. Russia were then awarded a penalty when Gerard Piqué handled in the box after a corner from the right. Artem Dzyuba shot home to the right of the net from 12 yards to send the sides into half-time level. In the 85th minute, Akinfeev got down low to his right to save a shot from Andrés Iniesta, the goalkeeper then denied Iago Aspas on the rebound.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Spain vs Russia
Piqué and Ramos both appeared to be held from a set-piece but, after a VAR check, the referee waved away Spain's appeals. In the penalty shoot-out, Akinfeev kept out a Koke effort and saw Aspas' effort diverted away by his leg to give Russia the win; as all Russia's penalty kicks ended up successful.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Spain vs Russia
This result meant Spain lost three of their four World Cup penalty shoot-outs (after losing to Belgium in 1986, beating the Republic of Ireland in 2002 and losing to South Korea in 2002), and had still never defeated a host nation at the FIFA World Cup, after losing to Italy 0–1 in 1934, Brazil 1–6 in 1950, and South Korea after penalties in 2002. Russia reached the quarter-final of the World Cup for the first time since the break-up of the Soviet Union.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Spain vs Russia
Ignashevich became the oldest player to score an own goal at the World Cup, aged 38 years and 352 days. The match marked the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup in which a fourth substitution was made during extra time, after Aleksandr Yerokhin of Russia entered the pitch in the 97th minute.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Spain vs Russia
Assistant referees:Sander van Roekel (Netherlands)Erwin Zeinstra (Netherlands)Fourth official:Clément Turpin (France)Reserve assistant referee:Nicolas Danos (France)Video assistant referee:Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)Assistant video assistant referees:Paweł Gil (Poland)Mark Borsch (Germany)Felix Zwayer (Germany)


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Croatia vs Denmark
The teams had met in five matches, which included two matches played in 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, the first fixture ending in a 1–1 draw and the reverse fixture a 3–1 Denmark win.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Croatia vs Denmark
In the first minute, a long throw into the Croatia penalty area by Jonas Knudsen, allowed a run to Thomas Delaney who touched the ball on to Mathias Jørgensen, who side-footed it into the net via deflections off goalkeeper Danijel Subašić and the post. After three minutes, Šime Vrsaljko's ball into the box reached Henrik Dalsgaard, whose clearance hit Andreas Christensen in the face and saw Mario Mandžukić tucking the ball between Kasper Schmeichel and the left post with a shot on the turn from six yards.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Croatia vs Denmark
During extra time, Ante Rebić burst clear of the Denmark defence and was felled by Mathias Jørgensen when he was clean through on goal, only for Schmeichel to save Luka Modrić's spot-kick by diving down to his left and clutching the ball to his chest. In the shoot-out, Subašić tipped off Christian Eriksen's penalty onto the post but Schmeichel saved from Milan Badelj to bring the sides level. Lasse Schöne's shot was saved by Subašić and Josip Pivarić was denied by an acrobatic Schmeichel stop. On the final spot kicks for both the teams, Nicolai Jørgensen took a shot from a staggered run-up which Subašić saved with his feet, before Ivan Rakitić slotted the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Croatia vs Denmark
Croatia qualified for their first World Cup quarter-final since 1998.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Croatia vs Denmark
Assistant referees:Hernán Maidana (Argentina)Juan Pablo Belatti (Argentina)Fourth official:Enrique Cáceres (Paraguay)Reserve assistant referee:Eduardo Cardozo (Paraguay)Video assistant referee:Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)Assistant video assistant referees:Gery Vargas (Bolivia)Roberto Díaz Pérez (Spain)Daniele Orsato (Italy)


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Brazil vs Mexico
The teams had met in 40 previous matches including two games at CONCACAF Gold Cup finals (1996 and 2003, both won by Mexico), the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup Final (won 4–3 by Mexico), and four times in the FIFA World Cup group stage, three won by Brazil and one ending in a draw (4–0 in 1950, 5–0 in 1954, 2–0 in 1962 and 0–0 in 2014).


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Brazil vs Mexico
Hirving Lozano's half-volley was well blocked by Miranda, while at the other end, Guillermo Ochoa saved Neymar's drive from just outside the penalty area. After 25 minutes, Neymar raced past Edson Álvarez in the area and forced Ochoa into a save with his left hand. Gabriel Jesus went close in the 33rd minute, finding space in a crowded area and drilling in a left-footed strike that Ochoa palmed away.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Brazil vs Mexico
In the 51st minute, Neymar's back-heel on the edge of the area teed up Willian for a burst into the box and his scuffed cross from the left was slid into an empty net by Neymar from close range. With two minutes remaining, Neymar powered through on the left and his low effort was diverted by Ochoa's foot into the path of Roberto Firmino, who tapped the ball into an empty net from close range.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Brazil vs Mexico
Since the introduction of the round of 16 in 1986, Mexico were eliminated at this stage of the World Cup seven times – more than twice as many as any other nation. This was also Mexico's fourth defeat at the hands of Brazil.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Brazil vs Mexico
Assistant referees:Elenito Di Liberatore (Italy)Mauro Tonolini (Italy)Fourth official:Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)Reserve assistant referee:Pau Cebrián Devís (Spain)Video assistant referee:Massimiliano Irrati (Italy)Assistant video assistant referees:Paweł Gil (Poland)Carlos Astroza (Chile)Daniele Orsato (Italy)


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Belgium vs Japan
The teams had faced each other in 5 previous matches, including one World Cup group stage match in 2002, which ended in a 2–2 draw. Their most recent meeting came in a friendly in 2017, a 1–0 Belgium win and also Belgium's first victory over Japan.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Belgium vs Japan
In the 48th minute, Gaku Shibasaki slipped a pass through to Genki Haraguchi, who rifled a shot across Thibaut Courtois from the right which went into the left corner of the net. After 4 minutes, Japan scored a second, Shinji Kagawa collecting a loose ball and feeding Takashi Inui, the midfielder working himself a yard of space before arrowing home from 25-yards into the bottom right corner of the net.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Belgium vs Japan
Jan Vertonghen's looping header from the left eluded goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima and landed in the right corner of the net after a corner caused chaos in the Japan penalty area – and five minutes later they were back on level terms. Eden Hazard twisted and turned to create space on the left wing, his cross delivered for Marouane Fellaini to climb above his marker and crash in a downward header.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Belgium vs Japan
In the last minute of stoppage time, Courtois found Kevin De Bruyne with a long throw, who freed Thomas Meunier with a pass, Meunier squared a low cross from the right and, when Romelu Lukaku dummied the ball, substitute Nacer Chadli was on hand to complete the comeback for Belgium with a low finish.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Belgium vs Japan
Belgium became the first team to come from two or more goals down to win a World Cup knockout stage match within 90 minutes since Portugal beat North Korea in the 1966 quarter-final (3–0 down, 5–3 win). Japan scored six goals at Russia 2018, their highest ever tally in a single World Cup tournament. Belgium reached the World Cup quarter-finals in successive tournaments for the first time.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Belgium vs Japan
Assistant referees:Djibril Camara (Senegal)El Hadji Samba (Senegal)Fourth official:Bakary Gassama (Gambia)Reserve assistant referee:Jean Claude Birumushahu (Burundi)Video assistant referee:Felix Zwayer (Germany)Assistant video assistant referees:Clément Turpin (France)Mark Borsch (Germany)Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Sweden vs Switzerland
The teams had faced each other in 28 previous matches, which included three matches in 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification, Switzerland winning twice (3–2 and 2–1) and Sweden winning once (4–0), and also twice in 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification, both matches ending in a 2–1 Sweden win.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Sweden vs Switzerland
Stephan Lichtsteiner and Fabian Schär were both ruled out through suspension. Albin Ekdal's volley missed the target prior to the break from a Mikael Lustig cross. Ola Toivonen fired over when well positioned inside the penalty area before Emil Forsberg finally broke the deadlock, his right foot shot from just outside the penalty area clipping Manuel Akanji to beat Yann Sommer. Switzerland sent on forwards Breel Embolo and Haris Seferovic, and the latter tested Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen with a header in the closing stages. Sweden were denied the chance to double their lead from the spot following Michael Lang's late dismissal for taking out Martin Olsson, with Sommer beating away Toivonen's driven free-kick after a lengthy delay.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Sweden vs Switzerland
Sweden qualified for their first World Cup quarter-final since 1994. Sweden won back-to-back World Cup matches for the first time since 1958, when they won the quarter-final and semi-final on their way to the final as host nation that year. Olsen kept his third clean sheet of the 2018 World Cup, a joint-record for a Swedish goalkeeper in World Cup finals history (also three clean sheets for Ronnie Hellström in 1974 and Kalle Svensson in 1958).


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Sweden vs Switzerland
Assistant referees:Jure Praprotnik (Slovenia)Robert Vukan (Slovenia)Fourth official:Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)Reserve assistant referee:Yaser Tulefat (Bahrain)Video assistant referee:Daniele Orsato (Italy)Assistant video assistant referees:Bastian Dankert (Germany)Roberto Díaz Pérez (Spain)Massimiliano Irrati (Italy)


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Colombia vs England
The teams had faced each other in five previous matches, including one World Cup group stage match in 1998, a 2–0 England win. Their most recent meeting came in a friendly in 2005, a 3–2 England win.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Colombia vs England
In the 16th minute, Harry Kane arrived beyond the back post to meet a Kieran Trippier cross, but was unable to direct his header on target. Wílmar Barrios was booked when he appeared to headbutt Jordan Henderson in the build-up to a free-kick Trippier bent narrowly wide. Colombia gave away a penalty early in the second half when Carlos Sánchez dragged Kane down in the box after a corner from the right. Kane scored from 12 yards, shooting down the middle to give England the lead.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Colombia vs England
Colombia forced their way into extra time, Yerry Mina scoring a downward header from a Juan Cuadrado corner from the right in injury time. Eric Dier scored the final penalty in the shoot-out, with England coming back from 3–2 down after Mateus Uribe and Carlos Bacca failed to convert their spot-kicks.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Colombia vs England
This was the first time that England had won a penalty shoot-out at the FIFA World Cup, and only the second time they had won on penalties at any major tournament (the previous occasion being against Spain at Euro 1996). Kane became the first player to score in six consecutive England appearances since Tommy Lawton did so in 1939. England conceded in injury time at the end of the second half for the first time in World Cup history, with Mina's goal coming after 92 minutes and 33 seconds.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Colombia vs England
Assistant referees:Joe Fletcher (Canada)Frank Anderson (United States)Fourth official:Matthew Conger (New Zealand)Reserve assistant referee:Tevita Makasini (Tonga)Video assistant referee:Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)Assistant video assistant referees:Paweł Gil (Poland)Carlos Astroza (Chile)Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Uruguay vs France
The teams had met in eight previous matches including three times in the FIFA World Cup group stage, one won by Uruguay and the other two ending in a draw (2–1 in 1966, 0–0 in 2002 and 0–0 in 2010).


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Uruguay vs France
In the 15th minute, after latching on to Olivier Giroud's knockdown in the box, Kylian Mbappé headed the ball over Fernando Muslera's crossbar. Five minutes before the break, Antoine Griezmann's inswinging free kick from the right was met by Raphaël Varane, who headed the ball into the bottom left corner. Four minutes later, Martín Cáceres' header was saved by Hugo Lloris low to his right and Diego Godín shot the rebound over. In the 61st minute, Griezmann's left footed shot from outside the penalty area slipped through Muslera's hands and into the net as France doubled their lead. Mbappé went down softly under a challenge from Cristian Rodríguez, prompting angry confrontations involving Godín, Nahitan Nández and Paul Pogba. In the 73rd minute, Corentin Tolisso's shot curled over, while Griezmann also flashed a late free-kick over the top.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Uruguay vs France
France became only the second team to beat three different South American sides in a single World Cup tournament, after the Netherlands in 1974. This victory marked France's 10th game unbeaten in World Cup matches against South American sides (6 wins and 4 draws), since a 2–1 loss against Argentina in 1978 – the joint longest run alongside Italy (1982 to 2010).


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Uruguay vs France
Assistant referees:Hernán Maidana (Argentina)Juan Pablo Belatti (Argentina)Fourth official:Alireza Faghani (Iran)Reserve assistant referee:Reza Sokhandan (Iran)Video assistant referee:Massimiliano Irrati (Italy)Assistant video assistant referees:Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)Carlos Astroza (Chile)Paolo Valeri (Italy)


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Brazil vs Belgium
The teams had met in four previous matches. Their most recent meeting came in a World Cup knockout stage match in 2002, Brazil winning 2–0 to advance to the quarter-finals. That match was also the only time the two sides had previously met in a World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Brazil vs Belgium
Belgium scored from their first corner of the game in the 13th minute; Vincent Kompany flicked on Nacer Chadli's delivery, but the decisive touch came from Fernandinho, who turned the ball past Alisson via his arm. Belgium doubled their lead by breaking from a Brazil corner in the 31st minute, with Kevin De Bruyne arrowing a right foot drive across Alisson and into the left corner of the net from the edge of the penalty area after Romelu Lukaku collected the ball, turned and embarked on a 40-yard run with a pass at the end to free De Bruyne.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Brazil vs Belgium
Brazil's third change yielded a goal three minutes and 14 seconds after his introduction, Renato Augusto gliding between two Belgium defenders to nod a flicked header past Thibaut Courtois from a Philippe Coutinho cross. Coutinho's first-time shot flew wide and yet another Neymar penalty appeal was rejected, before he drew a fingertip save from Courtois in the 94th minute.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Brazil vs Belgium
De Bruyne became the 100th player to score at the 2018 World Cup (excluding own goals). Belgium reached the World Cup semi-finals for only the second time, with them losing out to eventual winners Argentina in 1986. Belgium's victory was only their second ever against Brazil, and first since a 1963 friendly match in Brussels. This was the first time in 30 matches in all competitions that Brazil had conceded more than once in a game, since a 2–2 draw with Paraguay in March 2016.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Brazil vs Belgium
Assistant referees:Milovan Ristić (Serbia)Dalibor Đurđević (Serbia)Fourth official:Jair Marrufo (United States)Reserve assistant referee:Corey Rockwell (United States)Video assistant referee:Daniele Orsato (Italy)Assistant video assistant referees:Paweł Gil (Poland)Mark Borsch (Germany)Felix Zwayer (Germany)


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Sweden vs England
The teams had faced each other in 23 previous matches, including two times in the group stage of the World Cup, both matches ending in a draw (1–1 in 2002 and 2–2 in 2006). Their most recent meeting came in a friendly in 2012, a 4–2 Sweden win.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Sweden vs England
England took the lead in the 30th minute, Ashley Young's outswinging corner from the left finding Harry Maguire, goalkeeper Robin Olsen and Ola Toivonen on the line unable to stop the defender's downward header. Olsen did well with a strong hand to deny Raheem Sterling, who dallied with the rebound and allowed Andreas Granqvist to make a vital block. Shortly after the restart, Jordan Pickford dived to his left to palm away a header from Marcus Berg, who climbed above Young at the back post.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Sweden vs England
In the 58th minute, another England set-piece caused chaos and, although Sweden initially cleared their lines when Jesse Lingard delivered a cross from the right to the back post, Dele Alli was there to double his side's advantage with a header. John Guidetti teed up strike partner Berg in the 71st minute, but Pickford tipped the effort over the crossbar.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Sweden vs England
Alli's goal was England's 11th at the 2018 World Cup, equalling the country's record of most goals at a single World Cup set in 1966. Alli became the second youngest player to score for England at the World Cup (22 years and 87 days), behind only Michael Owen (18 years and 190 days against Romania in 1998). Maguire became the first defender to score the opening England goal in a World Cup knockout match since Rio Ferdinand in 2002 against Denmark. Pickford made three saves in the match and became the youngest England goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in a World Cup match (24 years and 122 days). England qualified for their first World Cup semi-final since 1990.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Sweden vs England
Assistant referees:Sander van Roekel (Netherlands)Erwin Zeinstra (Netherlands)Fourth official:Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)Reserve assistant referee:Pau Cebrián Devís (Spain)Video assistant referee:Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)Assistant video assistant referees:Bastian Dankert (Germany)Carlos Astroza (Chile)Felix Zwayer (Germany)


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Russia vs Croatia
The teams had faced each other in three previous matches. Their most recent meeting came in a friendly in 2015, a 3–1 Croatia win.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Russia vs Croatia
In the 31st minute, Denis Cheryshev came in from the left and, after a one-two with Artem Dzyuba, skipped away from Luka Modrić to curl a left foot effort beyond Danijel Subašić and into the left of the net. Six minutes before half-time, Mario Mandžukić advanced down the left to set up the chance for Andrej Kramarić to head home the equaliser. In the first period of extra time, Croatia took the lead as Domagoj Vida nodded down past Igor Akinfeev and into the right corner of the net after a corner from the right.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Russia vs Croatia
Mário Fernandes drew his team level, converting Alan Dzagoev's free-kick with a glancing header to the left corner of the net after a free-kick from the right. Penalties were required and while Fyodor Smolov's Panenka attempt with the first effort was foiled by Subašić, parity was restored when Akinfeev got down to his left to keep out Mateo Kovačić's second kick for Croatia. After Fernandes' failure, Modrić's strike found the net, following touches off Akinfeev's glove and the post. The decisive penalty fell to Ivan Rakitić, who rolled the ball into the bottom-left corner to give Croatia the win.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Russia vs Croatia
Russia became the first country in World Cup history to contest two shoot-outs while hosting the event. There were three headed goals in this match – the most in a World Cup match since Germany's 8–0 win over Saudi Arabia in 2002 (5 headers). Croatia became the second team to win two penalty shootouts at a single World Cup tournament – the other was Argentina in 1990 (against Yugoslavia and Italy). Croatia qualified for the semi-final for the first time since 1998 (their first World Cup tournament).


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Russia vs Croatia
Assistant referees:Emerson de Carvalho (Brazil)Marcelo Van Gasse (Brazil)Fourth official:Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)Reserve assistant referee:Jerson Dos Santos (Angola)Video assistant referee:Massimiliano Irrati (Italy)Assistant video assistant referees:Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)Roberto Díaz Pérez (Spain)Paolo Valeri (Italy)


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals
For the first time since 1966, all multiple World Cup winners were eliminated before the semi-final stage. This was only the second time that neither Brazil nor Germany were in the last four, the other being the inaugural 1930 tournament. With Uruguay and Brazil eliminated in the quarter-finals, an all-European semi-final line up was completed for the fifth time (after the 1934, 1966, 1982, and 2006 tournaments). This also ensured that a European side would win the World Cup for the fourth tournament in a row.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, France vs Belgium
The teams had faced each other in 73 previous matches, including two times in the World Cup, France winning both matches (3–1 in the round of 16 in 1938 and 4–2 in the third place play-off in 1986). Their most recent meeting came in a friendly in 2015, a 4–3 Belgium win.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, France vs Belgium
Eden Hazard twice went close, narrowly missing the target with a low, left-footed drive before seeing a curler with his right deflected over the crossbar by the head of Raphaël Varane. Hugo Lloris' full-length dive kept out a first-time strike on the turn from Toby Alderweireld, while Thibaut Courtois blocked Benjamin Pavard's attempt from a tight angle on the right at the other end.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, France vs Belgium
Six minutes after the break, Vincent Kompany's block turned away Olivier Giroud's shot, and Antoine Griezmann's inswinging delivery from the right to the front post was turned in by Samuel Umtiti, who outjumped his marker, Marouane Fellaini, to head beyond Courtois. Dries Mertens's cross from the right flank saw Fellaini narrowly miss the target with a header. Axel Witsel's long-range drive was pushed away by Lloris as France secured their place into the final.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, France vs Belgium
With this match, it meant Didier Deschamps managed more games for France at the World Cup than any other previous France manager, overtaking Raymond Domenech and Michel Hidalgo. This was Belgium's first defeat of any kind since a friendly loss against Spain in September 2016. France reached their third World Cup final, also doing so in 1998 and 2006. Only Germany (8) and Italy (6) had reached more among European nations.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, France vs Belgium
Assistant referees:Nicolás Taran (Uruguay)Mauricio Espinosa (Uruguay)Fourth official:César Arturo Ramos (Mexico)Reserve assistant referee:Marvin Torrentera (Mexico)Video assistant referee:Massimiliano Irrati (Italy)Assistant video assistant referees:Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)Roberto Díaz Pérez (Spain)Paolo Valeri (Italy)


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Croatia vs England
The teams had faced each other in seven previous matches, which included two matches played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, England winning on both occasions (4–1 and 5–1).


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Croatia vs England
Luka Modrić stopped a Dele Alli run, by fouling him at the edge of the area. Kieran Trippier found the top right corner of the net from the resulting free kick with his right foot. Harry Kane nearly doubled England's lead, but his close range shot deflected off Danijel Subašić's foot and onto the post. After half-time, Ivan Perišić met Šime Vrsaljko's deep cross from the right at head height with a flying, left-footed finish to the left of the net.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Croatia vs England
Soon after, Perišić shot against the right-hand post from the left before Ante Rebić put the rebound into Jordan Pickford's hands. In extra-time, John Stones had a header cleared off the line by Vrsaljko in the 98th minute. Pickford at the other end, denied Mario Mandžukić at point-blank range after the striker met Perišić's cross from the left. But Mandžukić came out on top soon after the break, latching on to Perišić's headed pass on the left and sending a left-footed effort across Pickford to find the bottom-right corner, securing Croatia's entrance into their first ever World Cup final.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Croatia vs England
Croatia became the first team to avoid defeat after trailing in three knockout matches at a single World Cup. They became the 13th different nation to reach a World Cup final. Trippier became the first player to score a direct free-kick for England at the World Cup since David Beckham in 2006 against Ecuador. Trippier's goal after four minutes and 44 seconds was the fastest goal scored in a World Cup semi-final since 1958 (Vavá after two minutes for Brazil v France) and was England's 12th goal in Russia, their most in a single World Cup. Croatia became the first team to play extra time in three consecutive World Cup matches since England in 1990. England scored nine goals from set-pieces at the 2018 World Cup – the most by a team in a single World Cup tournament since 1966.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Croatia vs England
Assistant referees:Bahattin Duran (Turkey)Tarık Ongun (Turkey)Fourth official:Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)Reserve assistant referee:Sander van Roekel (Netherlands)Video assistant referee:Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)Assistant video assistant referees:Bastian Dankert (Germany)Carlos Astroza (Chile)Felix Zwayer (Germany)


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off
The two teams had met in 22 matches, including three matches at the World Cup, one round of 16 game at the 1990 FIFA World Cup which ended in a 1–0 victory for England, one group stage game at the 1954 FIFA World Cup which ended in a 4–4 draw and their most recent encounter in Group G of this tournament which Belgium won 1–0.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off
After four minutes, Thomas Meunier raced into the box to get across Danny Rose and tucked home Nacer Chadli's low cross in from the left from six yards out. Harry Kane scuffed wide of the left post, from a Raheem Sterling lay-off. In the 70th minute, Eric Dier burst through for a one-on-one and dinked over Thibaut Courtois, only to see a retreating Toby Alderweireld hack the ball off the line. Jordan Pickford made a one-handed save to deny Meunier in the 80th minute. Eden Hazard scored the second with a near-post finish with his right foot, having been sent clean through by Kevin De Bruyne.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off
Meunier was the 10th player to score for Belgium at the 2018 World Cup. No other team had more, equalling France in 1982 and Italy in 2006. This became Belgium's best finish at a World Cup, having previously finished fourth in 1986. This was England's 100th match at a major tournament – 69 at the World Cup and 31 at the European Championship. Since 1966, no player had been involved in more World Cup goals for Belgium than Hazard (seven – three goals and four assists), level with Jan Ceulemans (also four goals and three assists).


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off
Assistant referees:Reza Sokhandan (Iran)Mohammadreza Mansouri (Iran)Fourth official:Malang Diedhiou (Senegal)Reserve assistant referee:Djibril Camara (Senegal)Video assistant referee:Mark Geiger (United States)Assistant video assistant referees:Bastian Dankert (Germany)Joe Fletcher (Canada)Paolo Valeri (Italy)


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Final
The match was the sixth meeting between France and Croatia, with France undefeated in the previous fixtures with three wins and two draws. The two sides first met in the 1998 World Cup semi-final, with hosts France winning 2–1. Their only other competitive meeting was during the group stage of Euro 2004, which finished as a 2–2 draw. Their next and most recent meeting was in a March 2011 friendly match, which finished as a 0–0 draw.


2018 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Final
Assistant referees:Hernán Maidana (Argentina)Juan Pablo Belatti (Argentina)Fourth official:Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)Reserve assistant referee:Erwin Zeinstra (Netherlands)Video assistant referee:Massimiliano Irrati (Italy)Assistant video assistant referees:Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)Carlos Astroza (Chile)Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)


2018 FIFA World Cup officials
The following is a list of match officials (referees, assistant referees, and video assistant referees) who officiated at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup officials, Referees and assistant referees
On 29 March 2018, FIFA published the list of 36 referees and 63 assistant referees, on the basis of nationality, from all six football confederations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. These were selected from a longlist of 53 trios.


2018 FIFA World Cup officials, Referees and assistant referees
Out of these, one referee and one assistant referee were dropped from the list and were not replaced. The two assistant referees associated with the dropped referee also withdrew, but were replaced in the roster.


2018 FIFA World Cup officials, Referees and assistant referees
On 12 July 2018, FIFA announced that Argentine referee Néstor Pitana would take charge of the final.


2018 FIFA World Cup officials, Video assistant referees
On 30 April 2018, FIFA announced 13 video assistant referees (VARs) had been appointed. For each World Cup game, there will be one VAR and three AVARs (Assistant Video Assistant Referees), each responsible for different situations. They will be supporting the main referee from the Video Operation Room based at the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) in Moscow.


2018 FIFA World Cup officials, Referees withdrawn and replaced
Referee Fahad Al-Mirdasi (Saudi Arabia) was withdrawn due to attempted match-fixing at the 2018 King Cup Final. His assistant referees were also withdrawn:


2018 FIFA World Cup officials, Referees withdrawn and replaced
No referee was called up to replace Al-Mirdasi, but two assistant referees were called up to complete the referee teams of Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates) and Ryuji Sato (Japan), respectively:


2018 FIFA World Cup officials, Referees withdrawn and replaced
Assistant referee Marwa Range (Kenya) also withdrew after the BBC released an investigation conducted by a Ghanaian journalist which implicated Marwa in a bribery scandal.


2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony
The 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony took place on Thursday, 14 June 2018, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia at 3:30 (BST), about a half hour before the opening match which Russia won 5–0 over Saudi Arabia.


2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Mascots
Zabivaka™ (English: "The one who scores"), was the official mascot for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and was voted for by a 53% margin. The design is of a wolf who represents fun, charm, and character. Former world cup winning, Brazilian striker Ronaldo was another mascot of the tournament. Ronaldo was the intended man to deliver the ceremonial first kick of the tournament but instead, he gave that honor to the child mascot who passed the official match ball to Zabivaka™ in order to start the tournament. The match ball (an Adidas Telstar 18) was sent into space with the International Space Station crew in March and came back to Earth in early June.


2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Speeches
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the opening speech of the tournament in which he talked about an "open, hospitable and friendly" Russia hosting the tournament. He also described Russia's love for football, calling the tournament and the game "a unity which cannot be affected by a different language, ideology or faith". Putin ended by saying:


2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Speeches
“Our duty is to preserve this power of humanity for generations to come for the sake of developing sports and strengthening peace and mutual understanding between people. I wish all the teams’ success and an unforgettable experience for the fans. Welcome to Russia.”


2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Speeches
Putin's speech was immediately followed by a short speech from FIFA President Gianni Infantino who said:


2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Speeches
“Welcome to the FIFA World Cup here in Russia. As of today, for one month, football will conquer Russia and from Russia, football will conquer the world. Enjoy the biggest celebration on earth. Thank you President Putin, thank you Moscow, Spasibo [thank you] Russia.”


2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Speeches
Following the two speeches the performance of the ceremony were allowed to commence before the opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia.


2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Performances
British pop singer Robbie Williams took centre stage at the end of the ceremony with a rendition of "Let Me Entertain You" before Russian soprano Aida Garifullina was carried out on to the pitch on the back of a "firebird" float. Williams sang a section of "Feel" before he and Garifullina performed a duet of "Angels" as performers emerged, dressed in the flags of all 32 teams and carrying a sign bearing the name of each nation. Williams then sang "Rock DJ"  in an encore as the pitch was being cleared for the first match.


2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Performances, Controversy
During the encore, Williams gave the middle finger. Fox in the US apologised for the incident. The incident was not shown on ITV in the UK who had cut away prior to the encore. In addition, while singing Rock DJ, Williams sung, "Pimpin' ain't easy. Most of them fleece me, but I did this for free." The lyrics "But I did this for free" replaced the lyrics "Every night".


2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Performances, Controversy
Williams appeared on This Morning on 19 June and explained what happened, “It was one minute to kick off, I was under a lot of pressure, because there was one minute left and I didn't know how I was going to do half a minute, so I just did a one-minute countdown [using his middle finger].” Asked by presenter Phillip Schofield whether he regrets it, he said: "Yeah, of course, yeah. I cannot trust me.


2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Performances, Controversy
And the last thing I said to my manager before we sat down on the sofa here was, 'what could go wrong,' because I don't know what I'm going to do at any time. There's no, sort of, plan. The plan was, sing in key, don't fall over. That was the plan and 99% of the plan, I pulled off.” When asked did the idea just enter his head he responded, “Nothing actually pops into my head. There's a block between me and sense... then something happens and then five minutes later, I'm like, 'Did I? Yeah, I did, didn't I?”. Williams changing his lyrics "every night" is still unexplained.


2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Dignitaries in attendance
A total of 21 foreign heads of state attended this match. It was the largest gathering of leaders for a FIFA World Cup match.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 remaining FIFA member associations were eligible to enter the qualifying process, and for the first time in World Cup history, all eligible national teams registered for the preliminary competition, but Zimbabwe and Indonesia were disqualified before playing their first matches. Bhutan, South Sudan, Gibraltar and Kosovo made their FIFA World Cup qualification debuts.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
While the main qualifying draw took place at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, on 25 July 2015, qualification matches were played before that. The first, between Timor-Leste and Mongolia, began in Dili on 12 March 2015 as part of the AFC's qualification, with East Timorese player Chiquito do Carmo scoring the first goal in qualification. Matches were also played in CONCACAF prior to the main draw.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
The number of teams participating in the final tournament was 32. Even though the qualification process began in March 2015, the allocation of slots for each confederation was discussed by the FIFA Executive Committee on 30 May 2015 in Zürich after the FIFA Congress. It was decided that the same allocation as 2014 would be kept for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Proposal for expansion
In October 2013, UEFA President Michel Platini proposed that the World Cup finals should be expanded from 32 to 40 teams starting from 2018. The format would have been the same, but in groups of five instead of four. This was in response to FIFA President Sepp Blatter's comments that Africa and Asia deserved more spots in the World Cup finals at the expense of European and South American teams.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Proposal for expansion
However, FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke said that expansion in 2018 would be "unlikely", while Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko said that the country was "preparing on the basis that 32 teams will be taking part." Expansion was ultimately delayed until 10 January 2017, when the FIFA Council voted unanimously to expand to 48 teams starting in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Summary of qualification
While all FIFA members entered the tournament, not all competed. Zimbabwe were expelled from the competition on 12 March 2015 for their failure to pay former coach José Claudinei a severance fee and Indonesia were excluded from the qualifying competition following the suspension of their football association by FIFA on 30 May 2015. Kuwait had a number of their qualifiers cancelled for a similar suspension that began while their campaign was underway, which eventually resulted in their elimination.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Summary of qualification
Brazil were the first team to achieve qualification for the tournament following their 3–0 victory over Paraguay and Uruguay's loss to Peru on 28 March 2017. Peru became the 32nd and final team to qualify when, 233 days after Brazil secured their place, they beat New Zealand 2–0 on aggregate in the OFC-CONMEBOL play-off.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Summary of qualification
Note: One team each from AFC, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC played in the inter-confederation play-offs, between 10–15 November 2017 (CONCACAF v AFC and OFC v CONMEBOL).


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Format
The formats of the qualifying competitions depended on each confederation (see below). Each round might be played in either of the following formats:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
In cases where teams finishing in the same position across different groups are compared for determining which teams advance to the next stage, the criteria is decided by the confederation and require the approval of FIFA (regulations Article 20.8).


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
In knockout format, the team that has the higher aggregate score over the two legs progresses to the next round. In the event that aggregate scores finish level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs progresses. If away goals are also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time are played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Format, Tiebreakers
The away goals rule is again applied after extra time, i.e. if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team qualifies by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by penalty shoot-out (regulations Article 20.9).


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, AFC
The AFC Executive Committee meeting on 16 April 2014 approved the proposal to merge the preliminary qualification rounds of the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup, which will be expanded to 24 teams starting in 2019:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, AFC, Final positions (third round)
The draw for the third round was held on 12 April 2016 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, AFC, Play-off for 5th place (fourth round)
The third-placed teams from each group in the third round played against each other home-and-away over two legs to determine which team advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF
The CAF Executive Committee approved the format for the qualifiers of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 14 January 2015. However, on 9 July 2015 FIFA officially announced that only three rounds would be played instead of four.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF
Zimbabwe, even though they entered the competition, were expelled on 12 March 2015 for their failure to pay former coach José Claudinei a severance fee. Therefore, only 53 African teams were involved in the draw.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF, Final positions (third round)
The draw for the third round was held on 24 June 2016 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF
An amendment to the qualification process for this tournament had been suggested, which would see the first three rounds played as knockout rounds, with both the fourth round and the final round (referred to as 'The Hex') played as group stages. The first round would be played during the FIFA international dates of 23–31 March 2015. CONCACAF announced the full details on 12 January 2015:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF, Final positions (fifth round)
The draw for the fifth round (to decide the fixtures) was held on 8 July 2016 at the CONCACAF headquarters in Miami Beach, United States.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONMEBOL
The qualification structure was the same as the previous five editions. The ten teams played in a league of home-and-away round-robin matches. The top four teams qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the fifth-placed team advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs, playing the winners of the Oceania Football Confederation qualifying competition.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONMEBOL
Unlike previous qualifying tournaments where the fixtures were pre-determined, the fixtures were decided by a draw held on 25 July 2015, at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, OFC
The OFC had considered different proposals of the qualifying tournament. A previous proposal adopted by the OFC in October 2014 would have the eight teams divided into two groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches in the second round, followed by the top two teams of each group advancing to the third round to play in a single group of home-and-away round-robin matches to decide the winners of the 2016 OFC Nations Cup which would qualify to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and advance to the inter-confederation play-offs. However, it was later reported in April 2015 that the OFC had reversed its decision, and the 2016 OFC Nations Cup was played as a one-off tournament similar to the 2012 OFC Nations Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, OFC, Final positions (third round)
The draw for the third round was held on 8 July 2016 at the OFC headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, OFC, Final positions (third round)
FinalThe draw for the final (which decided the order of legs) was held on 15 June 2017 at the OFC headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. The winners of the final advanced to inter-confederation play-offs.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA
Russia qualified automatically as hosts. The qualifying format for the remaining FIFA-affiliated UEFA teams was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee meeting on 22–23 March 2015 in Vienna.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA, Final positions (first round)
The draw for the first round was held on 25 July 2015, at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA, Final positions (first round)
In deciding the eight best runners-up, the matches against the sixth-placed team in each group were discarded.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA, Play-offs (second round)
The draw for the second round (play-offs) was held on 17 October 2017 at the FIFA headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland. The winners of each tie qualified for the World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Inter-confederation play-offs
There were two inter-confederation playoffs to determine the final two qualification spots for the finals. The first legs were played on 10 and 11 November 2017, and the second legs were played on 15 November 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Inter-confederation play-offs
The matchups were decided at the preliminary draw which was held on 25 July 2015, at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Top goalscorers
There were 2454 goals scored in 872 matches, for an average of 2.81 goals per match.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Top goalscorers
For each confederation and inter-confederation play-offs, see sections in each article:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
The Asian section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, held in Russia, for national teams which were members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). 4.5 slots (four direct slots and one inter-confederation play-off slot) in the final tournament were available for AFC teams.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
On 16 April 2014, the AFC Executive Committee approved a proposal to merge the preliminary qualification rounds of the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup, which expanded to 24 teams starting in 2019. Therefore, the first two rounds of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers also acted as qualifiers for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Entrants
The 46 FIFA-affiliated nations from the AFC entered qualification. In order to determine which nations would compete in the first round and which nations would receive a bye through to the second round, the FIFA World Rankings of January 2015 were used (shown in parentheses), as those were the latest published rankings prior to the first round draw. The FIFA Rankings of January 2015 were also used for seeding of the first round draw; however, for seeding in the second round and third round draws, the most recent FIFA Rankings prior to those draws were used.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Schedule
The inter-confederation play-offs were scheduled to be played between 6–14 November 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), First round
The draw for the first round was held on 10 February 2015, 15:30 MST (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Second round
The draw for the second round was held on 14 April 2015, at 17:00 MST (UTC+8), at the JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Second round, Ranking of runner-up teams
To determine the four best runner-up teams, the following criteria were used:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Second round, Ranking of runner-up teams
As a result of Indonesia being disqualified due to FIFA suspension, Group F contained only four teams compared to five teams in all other groups. Therefore, the results against the fifth-placed team were not counted when determining the ranking of the runner-up teams.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Third round
The third round consisted of two groups of six teams. The first two teams in each group qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The two third-placed teams proceeded to the fourth round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Third round
The draw for the third round was held on 12 April 2016, at 16:30 MST (UTC+8), at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fourth round
The two third-placed teams in each group from the third round played against each other home-and-away over two legs to determine which team advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fourth round
The order of legs was announced during the draw for the third round. Syria played their home match, as with all their home matches in the third round, in Malaysia due to the war time condition in Syria.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Intercontinental play-offs
The draw for the inter-confederation play-offs 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. The fifth-placed team from AFC was drawn against the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF, with the AFC team hosting the second leg.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Qualified teams
The following five teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
The African section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, held in Russia, for national teams which were members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). A total of five slots in the final tournament were available for CAF teams.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
The CAF Executive Committee approved the format for the qualifiers of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 14 January 2015, with three preliminary rounds before a final group stage featuring 20 teams. The number of preliminary rounds was reduced to two, based on information provided by FIFA in early July 2015.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Entrants
All 54 FIFA-affiliated football associations from CAF entered qualification. However, Zimbabwe were expelled from the competition on 12 March 2015 due to their failure to pay former coach José Claudinei a severance fee, a decision that the Zimbabwe Football Association unsuccessfully appealed against.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Entrants
The July 2015 FIFA Rankings were used to seed the teams for the first two rounds, both of which were drawn in Russia on 25 July 2015. (World rankings shown in brackets)


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Entrants
Note: Niger had to enter the first round as they had fewer FIFA ranking points (345.31) than Benin (345.46) and Libya (345.35). In the FIFA World Rankings, teams share the same ranking if their ranking points round to the same whole number.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), First round
The draw for the first round 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round
The draw for the second round 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Third round
The draw for the third round was held on 24 June 2016, 17:00 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Qualified teams
The following five teams from CAF qualified for the final tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Fan behaviour
After Morocco qualified for the tournament with a 2–0 victory over Ivory Coast, the celebrations by the Moroccan community in Brussels turned into a riot with cars burnt, shops looted by some 300 rioters and 20 police officers injured. Firefighters sent to put out the fires were also attacked by the rioters.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
The North, Central American and Caribbean section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, for national teams which are members of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). 3.5 slots (3 direct slots and 1 inter-confederation play-off slot) in the final tournament were available for CONCACAF teams.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
In a change to previous qualification tournaments for this confederation, the first three rounds were played as knockout rounds, with both the fourth round and the final round (referred to as the "Hexagonal") played as group stages. The first round was played during the FIFA international dates of 23–31 March 2015. CONCACAF announced the full format details on 12 January 2015.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
The United States failed to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time since 1986 after a surprise defeat by Trinidad and Tobago. As a result, Panama reached the World Cup for the first time in their history.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Entrants
All 35 FIFA-affiliated national teams from CONCACAF entered qualification. The seeding – used to draw the first four rounds of the qualifiers – was based on the FIFA World Rankings of August 2014 (shown in parentheses).


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Schedule
The inter-confederation play-offs were scheduled to be played between 6–14 November 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), First round
The draw for the first round was held on 15 January 2015, 19:40 EST (UTC−5), at the W Hotel at Miami Beach, Florida, United States.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Second round
The draw for the second round was held on 15 January 2015, 19:40 EST (UTC−5), at the W Hotel at Miami Beach, Florida, United States.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Third round
The draw for the third round 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Fourth round
The draw for the fourth round 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Fifth round
As with every World Cup qualification campaign since 1998, CONCACAF held a six-team, home-and-away round-robin group known as the 'Hexagonal', or 'Hex', as its final and decisive round. As a result of the abolition of the February and August fixtures from the FIFA calendar, the 'Hex' for the first time was not contained within a single calendar year, but instead began in November 2016 and concluded in October 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Fifth round
The draw for the fifth round (to decide the fixtures) was held on 8 July 2016, 10:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the CONCACAF headquarters in Miami Beach, United States.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Inter-confederation play-offs
The draw for the inter-confederation play-offs 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. The fourth-placed team from CONCACAF was drawn against the fifth-placed team from Asian Football Confederation (AFC), with the CONCACAF team hosting the first leg.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Qualified teams
The following three teams from CONCACAF qualified for the final tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Top goalscorers
There were 319 goals scored in 112 matches, for an average of 2.85 goals per match.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–AFC play-off)
The 2018 FIFA World Cup CONCACAF–AFC qualification play-off was a two-legged home-and-away tie between the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF Fifth Round, Honduras, and the winner of the AFC Fourth Round play-off, Australia.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–AFC play-off)
The matches were played on 10 and 15 November 2017. After a 0–0 draw in the opening leg at Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, Australia defeated Honduras 3–1 in the second leg at Stadium Australia, winning the tie by the same margin on aggregate. Australia therefore qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals, reaching the tournament for the fifth time, and fourth in succession.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–AFC play-off), Overview
The play-off marked the sixth inter-confederation play-off participation for Australia after previously defeating Uruguay in 2005, losing to Uruguay in 2001, losing to Iran in 1997, losing to Argentina after defeating Canada in 1993, and losing to Scotland in 1985. This was also their first play-off appearance as an AFC member.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–AFC play-off), Overview
This was Honduras' first participation in the inter-confederation play-offs; they finished fourth in the final round of the CONCACAF qualification after the United States lost to Trinidad and Tobago 2–1, which caused the United States to not qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–AFC play-off), Overview
The draw for the order in which the two matches would be played was held by FIFA on 25 July 2015 at the World Cup Preliminary Draw.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–AFC play-off), First leg
Assistant referees:Lorenzo Manganelli (Italy)Riccardo di Fiore (Italy)Fourth official:Paolo Tagliavento (Italy)


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–AFC play-off), Second leg
Assistant referees:Hernán Maidana (Argentina)Juan Pablo Belatti (Argentina)Fourth official:Patricio Loustau (Argentina)


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
The South American section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup held in Russia, for national teams which are members of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL). A total of 4.5 slots (4 direct slots and 1 inter-confederation play-off slot) in the final tournament were available for CONMEBOL teams.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
Two-time defending Copa América champions Chile did not qualify for 2018 FIFA World Cup after a 3–0 loss to Brazil on the final day of qualifying campaign, resulting in a sixth-place finish. As a result following intercontinental play-offs against the record five-time OFC Nations Cup champions New Zealand, Peru qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1982.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Format
The qualification structure was the same as for the previous five tournaments. The ten teams played in a league of home-and-away round-robin matches. The top four teams qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the fifth-placed team advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Format
Unlike previous qualifying tournaments where the fixtures were pre-determined, the fixtures were determined by draw, which 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Format
For scheduling reasons, Argentina and Brazil were automatically positioned as Teams 4 and 5 respectively to ensure that no team has to play both of them on any double matchday. The remaining eight teams were drawn into one of the remaining eight positions from Teams 1 to 10 (except 4 and 5).


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Entrants
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the World Cup. Peru advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs and won.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Schedule
There were a total of 18 matchdays: four in 2015, eight in 2016, and six in 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Schedule
The inter-confederation play-offs were scheduled to be played between 6–14 November 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Schedule
The fixtures for CONMEBOL qualification were decided based on the draw positions, as follows:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Inter-confederation play-offs
The draw for the inter-confederation play-offs 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. The fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL was drawn against the first-placed team from OFC, with the CONMEBOL team hosting the second leg.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Qualified teams
The following five teams from CONMEBOL qualified for the final tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
The Oceanian section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Russia, for national teams which are members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). A total of 0.5 slots (i.e. 1 inter-confederation play-off slot) in the final tournament was available for OFC teams.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
The 2016 edition of the OFC Nations Cup once again doubled as the second round of the OFC qualifying competition for the 2018 FIFA World Cup (similar to the 2012 OFC Nations Cup and the OFC qualifying competition for the 2014 FIFA World Cup). Unlike in 2012, however, the team that won the qualifying competition and advanced to the intercontinental play-off, New Zealand, was the same team that also won the OFC Nations Cup and represented the OFC at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Format
The OFC had considered different proposals of the qualifying tournament. A previous proposal adopted by the OFC in October 2014 had the eight teams divided into two groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches in the second round, followed by the top two teams of each group advancing to the third round to play in a single group of home-and-away round-robin matches to decide the winner of the 2016 OFC Nations Cup which would both qualify to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and advance to the inter-confederation play-offs. However, it was later reported in April 2015 that the OFC had reversed its decision, and the 2016 OFC Nations Cup will be played as a one-off tournament similar to the 2012 OFC Nations Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Entrants
All 11 FIFA-affiliated national teams from the OFC entered qualification. The four lowest ranked teams (based on FIFA World Ranking and sporting reasons) entered the first round, while the other seven teams entered the second round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Schedule
The inter-confederation play-offs were scheduled to be played between 6–14 November 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), First round
The match schedule was revealed on 30 July 2015, following a draw held at OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Second round
The draw for the second round 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Second round, Knockout stage
While the results of the OFC Nations Cup knockout stage matches have no effect on the teams qualified for the third round of World Cup qualifying, for statistical purposes these matches are considered part of World Cup qualifying, with FIFA counting goalscorers in the qualifying statistics, and cards given may contribute to suspensions in the third round of World Cup qualifying (similar to the setup for 2014 World Cup qualifying).


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Third round
The draw for the third round was held on 8 July 2016, 11:00 NZST (UTC+12), at the OFC headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Third round, Final
The draw for the final (which decided the order of legs) was held on 15 June 2017, 16:00 NZST (UTC+12), at the OFC headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Third round, Final
The winner of the final advanced to inter-confederation play-offs. Dates were set for the two-legged final as being between 28 August and 5 September 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Inter-confederation play-offs
The draw for the inter-confederation play-offs 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. The first-placed team from OFC was drawn against the fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL, with the OFC team hosting the first leg.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC–CONMEBOL play-off)
The 2018 FIFA World Cup OFC–CONMEBOL qualification play-off was a two-legged home-and-away tie between the winning team of the OFC Third Round, New Zealand, and the fifth-placed team from the CONMEBOL qualifying tournament, Peru.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC–CONMEBOL play-off)
The matches were played on 11 and 15 November 2017. Peru emerged victorious and qualified for the finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC–CONMEBOL play-off), Overview
The play-off marked the third consecutive intercontinental play-off participation for New Zealand after previously losing to Mexico in 2013 and defeating Bahrain in 2009.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC–CONMEBOL play-off), Overview
This was Peru's first participation in the inter-confederation play-offs. They previously qualified for the World Cup in 1982.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC–CONMEBOL play-off), Overview
The draw for the order in which the two matches would be played was held by FIFA on 25 July 2015 at the World Cup Preliminary Draw.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC–CONMEBOL play-off), First leg
Assistant referees:Joe Fletcher (Canada)Frank Anderson (United States)Fourth official:Jair Marrufo (United States)


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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
The qualifying format was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee meeting on 22–23 March 2015 in Vienna.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Four-time champions Italy did not qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, missing out on qualification for the first time since 1958 after losing in the playoffs to Sweden, 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, and second in 2010. Iceland, with 335,000 inhabitants, became the smallest country ever to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Entrants
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. 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Entrants
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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Entrants
On 13 May 2016, both Kosovo and Gibraltar were officially admitted as FIFA members, thus allowing them to compete. UEFA created a task force to discuss how to integrate the two teams into the competition, 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Format
Qualifying matches started in September 2016, following UEFA Euro 2016, and finished in November 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Format
The scheduling of qualifying matches, which were centralised by UEFA, followed the "Week of Football" concept first used for UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Format
The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 26 July 2015, the day following the draw.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, Seeding
The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of July 2015. The 52 teams were seeded into six pots:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, Seeding
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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, Seeding
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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, Seeding
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).


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, Seeding
Teams in bold eventually qualified for the final tournament, teams in bold italic qualified for the final tournament through the play-offs, and teams in italic participated in the play-offs but did not qualify for the final tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, Seeding
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. 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. All nine groups then had six teams.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, Seeding
The hosts Russia were to be partnered with five-team Group H for friendlies. 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, 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. As a result, only eight matches played by each team were counted in the second-placed table.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, Ranking of second-placed teams
The eight best runners-up were determined by the following parameters, in this order:


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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Second round, 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. 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Second round, Seeding and draw
Northern Ireland (23) Sweden (25) Republic of Ireland (26) Greece (47)


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Second round, 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Qualified teams
The following 14 teams from UEFA qualified for the final tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)
For the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, there were two scheduled inter-confederation play-offs to determine the final two qualification spots to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The matches were originally scheduled to be played between 6–14 November 2017, and later confirmed to take place between 10–15 November.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Format
The draw for the inter-confederation play-offs 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Format
The four teams from the four confederations (AFC, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC) were drawn into two ties. There was no seeding.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Format
In each tie, the two teams played a two-legged home-and-away series. The two winners, decided on aggregate score, qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. If the aggregate score was level, the away goals rule was applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs advanced. If away goals were also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time would be played.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Format
The away goals rule would again be applied after extra time, i.e. if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team would advance by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie would be decided by a penalty shoot-out.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Matches
The first legs were played on 10 and 11 November 2017, and the second legs were played on 15 November 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Matches, CONCACAF v AFC
Australia won 3–1 on aggregate and qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Matches, OFC v CONMEBOL
Peru won 2–0 on aggregate and qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round
The first round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (and 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification) was played from 12 to 23 March 2015.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Format
A total of twelve teams (teams ranked 35–46 in the AFC entrant list) played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the second round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Seeding
The draw for the first round was held on 10 February 2015, 15:30 MST (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Seeding
The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of January 2015 (shown in parentheses below). The 12 teams were seeded into two pots:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Seeding
Each tie contained a team from Pot A and a team from Pot B, with the team from Pot A hosting the first leg.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
India won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Yemen won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Timor-Leste won the first leg 4–1 and the second leg 1–0, thus winning 5–1 on aggregate and advancing to the Second Round. On 12 December 2017 FIFA awarded both matches 3–0 to Mongolia due to Timor-Leste fielding numerous ineligible players. However, this was long after the Second Round had been played, so Timor-Leste advanced and Mongolia were not reinstated.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Cambodia won 4–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Chinese Taipei won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Bhutan won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Goalscorers
There were 24 goals scored in 12 matches, for an average of 2 goals per match.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round
The fourth round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 5 to 10 October 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round, Format
In the fourth round, the third-placed teams from the two third round groups competed in a two-legged home-and-away play-off. The winners advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs against the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF fifth round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round, Format
The order of legs was pre-determined by the AFC, announced during the draw for the third round. The third-placed team from Group A would host the first leg, while the third-placed team from Group B would host the second leg.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round, Matches
Australia won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round, Goalscorers
There were 5 goals scored in 2 matches, for an average of 2.5 goals per match.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round
The second round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (and 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification) was played from 24 May 2015 to 29 March 2016.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Format
A total of forty teams (teams ranked 1–34 in the AFC entrant list and six first round winners) were divided into eight groups of five teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The eight group winners and the four best group runners-up advanced to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualification as well as qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Format
A total of 24 teams eliminated from World Cup qualification in the second round competed in the third round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification (which was separated from the third round of 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification), where they were divided into six groups of four teams and competed for the remaining slots of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. The 24 teams consisted of the sixteen highest ranked teams eliminated in the second round, and the eight teams that advanced from the play-off round of 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification which were contested by the remaining twelve teams eliminated in the second round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Seeding
The draw for the second round was held on 14 April 2015, at 17:00 MST (UTC+8), at the JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Seeding
The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of April 2015 (shown in parentheses below). The 40 teams were seeded into five pots:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Seeding
Each group contained one team from each of the five pots. The fixtures of each group were automatically decided based on the respective pot of each team.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Seeding
As the seeding order was based on the most recent FIFA Rankings prior to the draw, it differed from the order in the AFC entrant list, which was based on the FIFA World Rankings of January 2015. Among the six first round winners, three were seeded higher than pot 5 (India in pot 3, Timor-Leste and Bhutan in pot 4), on the basis of ranking points gained from the first round matches, while the other three (Yemen, Cambodia and Chinese Taipei) were seeded in pot 5.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Groups, Group F
Indonesia was also drawn into this group, but on 30 May 2015 the country's football association was suspended due to governmental interference, and on 3 June 2015 the team was disqualified and all matches involving it were cancelled.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Ranking of runner-up teams
To determine the four best runner-up teams, the following criteria were used:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Ranking of runner-up teams
As a result of Indonesia being disqualified by FIFA suspension, Group F contained only four teams compared to five teams in all other groups. Therefore, the results against the fifth-placed team were not counted when determining the ranking of the runner-up teams.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Ranking of fourth-placed teams
To determine the four best fourth-placed teams, the following criteria were used:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Ranking of fourth-placed teams
As a result of Indonesia being disqualified by FIFA suspension, Group F contained only four teams compared to five teams in all other groups. Therefore, the results against the fifth-placed team were not counted when determining the ranking of the fourth-placed teams.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Goalscorers
There were 507 goals scored in 152 matches, for an average of 3.34 goals per match.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round
This is the current revision of this page, as edited by Mediocre Legacy (talk | contribs) at 23:25, 15 June 2021 (→Goalscorers: Fix). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this version.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round
The third round of AFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 1 September 2016 to 5 September 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round, Format
A total of twelve teams which advanced from the second round (the eight group winners and the four best group runners-up) were divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams advanced to the fourth round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round, Seeding
The draw for the third round was held on 12 April 2016, at 16:30 MST (UTC+8), at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round, Seeding
The seeding were based on the FIFA World Rankings of April 2016 (shown in parentheses below). The twelve teams were seeded into six pots:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round, Seeding
Each group contained one team from each of the six pots. The fixtures of each group were automatically decided based on the respective pot of each team.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round, Seeding
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the World Cup. Italicised teams qualified for the fourth round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round, Goalscorers
There were 129 goals scored in 60 matches, for an average of 2.15 goals per match.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round
The first round of CAF matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 7 to 17 October 2015.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Format
A total of 26 teams (teams ranked 28–53 in the CAF entrant list) played home-and-away over two legs. The 13 winners advanced to the second round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Seeding
The draw for the first round 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Seeding
The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of July 2015 (shown in parentheses). The 26 teams are seeded into two pots:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Seeding
Each tie contained a team from Pot 4 and a team from Pot 5, with the team from Pot 4 hosting the second leg.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Niger won 6–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round against Cameroon.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Mauritania won 5–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round against Tunisia.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Namibia won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round against Guinea.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Ethiopia won 3–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round against Congo.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
2–2 on aggregate. Chad won on the away goals rule and advanced to the second round against Egypt.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
1–1 on aggregate. Comoros won on the away goals rule and advanced to the second round against Ghana.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Swaziland won 8–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round against Nigeria.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Botswana won 5–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round against Mali.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Burundi won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round against DR Congo.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Liberia won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round against Ivory Coast.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Madagascar won 5–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round against Senegal.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Kenya won 5–2 on aggregate and advanced to the second round against Cape Verde.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Matches
Tanzania won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the second round against Algeria.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round, Goalscorers
There were 68 goals scored in 26 matches, for an average of 2.62 goals per match.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round
The second round of CAF matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 11 to 17 November 2015.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Format
A total of 40 teams (teams ranked 1–27 in the CAF entrant list and 13 first round winners) played home-and-away over two legs. The 20 winners advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Seeding
The draw for the second round 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.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Seeding
The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of July 2015 (shown in parentheses). The 27 direct qualifiers are seeded into three pots:


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Seeding
Each tie contained a team from Pot 1 and a first round winner (first 13 ties) which were automatically allocated into each tie (winner of first round tie 1 into second round tie 1, etc. ), or a team from Pot 2 and a team from Pot 3 (last seven ties), with the team from Pot 1 or Pot 2 hosting the second leg. As the draw was held before the first round was played, the identities of the first round winners were not known at the time of the draw.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Cameroon won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Tunisia won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Guinea won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Congo won 6–4 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Egypt won 4–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Ghana won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Nigeria won 2–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Mali won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
DR Congo won 6–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Ivory Coast won 4–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Senegal won 5–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Cape Verde won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Algeria won 9–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Zambia won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Libya won 4–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Morocco won 2–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
1–1 on aggregate. Gabon won the penalty shoot-out 4–3 and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Burkina Faso won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
Uganda won 4–0 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Matches
South Africa won 4–1 on aggregate and advanced to the third round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Goalscorers
There were 97 goals scored in 40 matches, for an average of 2.43 goals per match.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round
The third round of CAF matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 7 October 2016 to 14 November 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round, Format
A total of 20 teams which had advanced from the second round were drawn into five groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The winners of each group qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round, Seeding
The draw for the third round was held on 24 June 2016, 17:00 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round, Seeding
The seedings – initially released on 8 June 2016 – were based on a special edition of the FIFA World Rankings that included all matches up to 7 June 2016. This allowed the rankings to include results of the Africa Cup of Nations qualification games played between 3–5 June 2016. However, following a complaint by the Egyptian Football Association, it was reported that a further special ranking would be used. This seeding was released on 21 June. Following further complaints, the Emergency Bureau for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers reversed the change, and restored the initial special rankings.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round, Seeding
Each group contained one team from each of the four pots. The fixtures of each group were decided based on the respective draw position of each team, which was decided by drawing a ball with position numbers 1–4.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round, Goalscorers
There were 144 goals scored in 61 matches, for an average of 2.36 goals per match.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fifth Round
The fifth round (also known as the Hexagonal or Hex) of CONCACAF matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 11 November 2016 to 10 October 2017. Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, while Honduras qualified for (and was later eliminated in) the inter-confederation play-offs. The United States (who failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 32 years) and Trinidad and Tobago were eliminated in this round.


2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fifth Round, Format
A total of six teams which had advanced from the fourth round (the three group winners and the three group runners-up) played against each other home-and-away in a double round-robin format in a single group. The top three teams in the group qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the fourth-placed team advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs to face the fifth-placed team from the AFC. This stage is referred to as the Hexagonal or Hex, and has been used by CONCACAF to determine its World Cup finals entrants since the qualification tournament for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica have qualified for every "Hex" since it first began in 1998.