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

The European section of the  will act as qualifiers for the, to be held in Russia, for national teams which are members of the (UEFA). Apart from, which qualify automatically as hosts, a total of 13 slots in the final tournament are available for UEFA teams.

Format
The qualification structure is as follows:


 * First round (group stage): The 54 teams will be divided into nine groups of six teams each 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.

Seeding
Teams were allocated to seeding pots as follows (July 2015 FIFA Rankings shown in brackets).

FIFA recognised the football nations of and  after the draw, and on 9 June 2016 it was decided Gibraltar would join Group H, and Kosovo would join group I.

Schedule
Qualifying matches will start in September 2016, following UEFA Euro 2016, and finish in November 2017.

Group A
Updated to match(es) played on 9 June 2017. (Y) Cannot qualify directly to 2018, but may still advance to the second round.

Group B
Updated to match(es) played on 9 June 2017. (E) Eliminated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly to, but may still advance to the second round.

Group C
Updated to match(es) played on 10 June 2017. (E) Eliminated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly to, but may still advance to the second round.

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

Group E
Updated to match(es) played on 10 June 2017. (Y) Cannot qualify directly to, but may still advance to the second round.

Group F
Updated to match(es) played on 10 June 2017. (E) Eliminated

Group G
Updated to match(es) played on 11 June 2017. (E) Eliminated

Group H
Updated to match(es) played on 9 June 2017. (E) Eliminated; (Y) Cannot qualify directly to, but may still advance to the second round.

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

Ranking of second-placed teams
At the time of the draw, groups H and I had one team fewer than the other groups so it was announced 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 Gibraltar and Kosovo, the regulation has not changed. As a result, only eight matches played by each team will be counted in the second-placed table.

Second round
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.