User:Hexarafi/Archive/2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (Football Future's Scenario)

The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process will decide 31 of the 32 teams which will play in the, with the hosts qualifying automatically. All 210 remaining FIFA member associations are eligible to enter the qualifying process. For the first time in World Cup history, all national teams registered for the preliminary competition, although suspensions excluded some teams from participating in qualification.

Qualified teams



 * Notes

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

Summary of qualification

 * Updated as of all matches played on 13 June 2017

Note: One team each from AFC, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC will play in the inter-confederation play-offs, scheduled for 6–14 November 2017 (CONCACAF v AFC and OFC v CONMEBOL).

Note: UEFA total includes +1 for Russia as hosts.

Format
Further information: .

The formats of the qualifying competitions depend on each confederation (see below). Each round may be played in either of the following formats:


 * League format, where more than two teams form groups to play home-and-away round-robin matches, or in exceptions permitted by the FIFA Organizing Committee, single round-robin matches hosted by one of the participating teams or on neutral territory.
 * Knockout format, where two teams play home-and-away two-legged matches

UEFA
Main article: .

Russia have 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. The draw for the UEFA zone took place on 25 July 2015 in St. Petersburg.
 * First round (group stage): The 52 UEFA teams affiliated with FIFA at the time of the draw were divided into nine groups (seven groups of six teams and two groups of five teams) to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The winners of each group will qualify for the, and the eight best runners-up will advance to the second round (play-offs).
 * Second round (play-offs): The eight best runners-up from the first round will play home-and-away over two legs. The four winners will qualify for the.

Current stage (first round)
The draw for the first round was held on 25 July 2015, at the Konstantinovsky Palace in, , Russia.

{{legend|#BBF3BB|Qualification to }} {{legend|#BBF3FF|Possible advancement to. The eight best runners-up across all groups will advance to the .}}

Notes: [E] Eliminated; [Y] Cannot qualify directly to, but may still advance to the second round.


 * Ranking of runners-up

Second round (play-off)
The draw for the second round (play-offs) will be held in October 2017, after the first round (group stage) is completed. The first legs will be played on 9–11 November, and the second legs will be played on 12–14 November 2017. The winner of each tie will qualify for the World Cup.

CONMEBOL
Main article: .

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

Updated to match(es) played on 28 March 2017. (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.

CONCACAF
Main article: 

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.

In the fifth round (current round), the six teams which advanced from the fourth round will play home-and-away round-robin matches in one single group. The top three teams will qualify for the, and the fourth-placed team will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs, playing the winner of the Asian Football Confederation play-off.

Updated to match(es) played on 13 June 2017.

AFC
Main article: 

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, which will be expanded to 24 teams starting in 2019.

In the third round (current round), the 12 teams (an increase from 10 for 2014) which advance from the second round were divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the, and the two third-placed teams will advance to the fourth round.

Group A Updated to match(es) played on 13 June 2017. (Q) Qualified; (Y) Cannot qualify directly to, but may still advance to the fourth round.

Group B Updated to match(es) played on 13 June 2017. (E) Eliminated.

CAF
Main article: 

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 will be played instead of four.

In the third round (current round), the 20 teams which advance from the second round were divided into five groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The winners of each group will qualify for the.


 * Group A


 * Group B


 * Group C


 * Group D


 * Group E

OFC
Main article: 

The OFC have 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 winner of the which would qualify to the  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 was played as a one-off tournament similar to the.

In the third round (current round), the six teams which advance from the second round were divided into two groups of three teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The two group winners will meet in a with the winner advancing to the inter-confederation play-offs, playing the fifth-placed South American team.

Updated to match(es) played on 11 June 2017.
 * Group A

Updated to match(es) played on 13 June 2017.
 * Group B

Final

Qualified teams
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Inter confederation play-offs
Main article: 

The inter-confederation play-offs are scheduled to be played between 6–14 November 2017.

The matchups were decided at the preliminary draw which was held on 25 July 2015, at the Konstantinovsky Palace in, , Russia.