There are only four World Cup 2018 qualification places left to play for in Europe as group play reached its conclusion on October 10.
France and Portugal were the last teams to wrap up top spot in their groups and confirm their place at the finals, joining the likes of Spain, Germany and England.
For Italy, Croatia and Switzerland, among others, though, the second-place play-offs loom in November before the draw for the tournament in Russia a month later.
Goal has your complete guide to the current qualification picture as we edge nearer to the return of the biggest sporting event on the planet.
QUALIFIED TEAMS
| Team | Method |
|---|---|
| Russia | Hosts |
| France | Group A winner |
| Portugal | Group B winner |
| Germany | Group C winner |
| Serbia | Group D winner |
| Poland | Group E winner |
| England | Group F winner |
| Spain | Group G winner |
| Belgium | Group H winner |
| Iceland | Group I winner |
| TBC | Play-off winner |
| TBC | Play-off winner |
| TBC | Play-off winner |
| TBC | Play-off winner |
GROUP TABLES
The 54 countries participating are split into nine groups of six.
The teams in each group play each other twice - once at home and once away. The nine first-place teams qualify directly for the World Cup finals.
The nine second-place teams are then ranked by points, but with the results of their games against the last-placed team in their group discarded (leaving eight games each).
The best eight teams on that basis are drawn at random into four two-legged play-off ties, with the ninth team eliminated. The winners of those ties also qualify for the World Cup finals.
Group A:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France (Q) | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 6 | +12 | 23 |
| 2 | Sweden (PO) | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 26 | 9 | +17 | 19 |
| 3 | Netherlands (E) | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 19 |
| 4 | Bulgaria (E) | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 19 | -5 | 13 |
| 5 | Luxembourg (E) | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 26 | -18 | 6 |
| 6 | Belarus (E) | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 21 | -15 | 5 |
Group B:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal (Q) | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 4 | +28 | 27 |
| 2 | Switzerland (PO) | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 7 | +16 | 27 |
| 3 | Hungary (E) | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 13 |
| 4 | Faroe Islands (E) | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 16 | -12 | 9 |
| 5 | Latvia (E) | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 18 | -11 | 7 |
| 6 | Andorra (E) | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 23 | -21 | 4 |
Group C:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany (Q) | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 4 | +39 | 30 |
| 2 | Northern Ireland (PO) | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 19 |
| 3 | Czech Republic (E) | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 10 | +7 | 15 |
| 4 | Norway (E) | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 16 | +1 | 13 |
| 5 | Azerbaijan (E) | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 19 | -9 | 10 |
| 6 | San Marino (E) | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 51 | -49 | 0 |
Group D:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serbia (Q) | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 10 | +10 | 21 |
| 2 | Republic of Ireland (PO) | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 19 |
| 3 | Wales (E) | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 17 |
| 4 | Austria (E) | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 15 |
| 5 | Georgia (E) | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 5 |
| 6 | Moldova (E) | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 23 | -19 | 2 |
Group E:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poland (Q) | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 14 | +14 | 25 |
| 2 | Denmark (PO) | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 8 | +12 | 20 |
| 3 | Montenegro (E) | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 12 | +8 | 16 |
| 4 | Romania (E) | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 13 |
| 5 | Armenia (E) | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 26 | -16 | 7 |
| 6 | Kazakhstan (E) | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 26 | -20 | 3 |
Group F:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England (Q) | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 3 | +15 | 26 |
| 2 | Slovakia | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 7 | +10 | 18 |
| 3 | Scotland (E) | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 12 | +5 | 18 |
| 4 | Slovenia (E) | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 7 | +5 | 15 |
| 5 | Lithuania (E) | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 20 | -13 | 7 |
| 6 | Malta (E) | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 25 | -22 | 1 |
Group G:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain (Q) | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 3 | +33 | 28 |
| 2 | Italy (PO) | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 8 | +13 | 23 |
| 3 | Albania (E) | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 13 | -3 | 13 |
| 4 | Israel (E) | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 12 |
| 5 | Macedonia (E) | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 11 |
| 6 | Liechtenstein (E) | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 39 | -38 | 0 |
Group H:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium (Q) | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 6 | +37 | 28 |
| 2 | Greece (PO) | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 19 |
| 3 | Bosnia & Herzegovina (E) | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 13 | +11 | 17 |
| 4 | Estonia (E) | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 11 |
| 5 | Cyprus (E) | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 18 | -9 | 10 |
| 6 | Gibraltar (E) | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 47 | -44 | 0 |
Group I:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iceland (Q) | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 22 |
| 2 | Croatia (PO) | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 4 | +11 | 20 |
| 3 | Ukraine (E) | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 17 |
| 4 | Turkey (E) | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 15 |
| 5 | Finland (E) | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 13 | -4 | 9 |
| 6 | Kosovo (E) | 10 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 24 | -21 | 1 |
(Q) = qualified
(PO) = qualified at least for play-off
(E) = eliminated
Bold = final position confirmed
SECOND-PLACE RANKING
The nine second-place teams from each group are ranked by points, but with the results of their games against the sixth-placed team in their group discarded.
Those points don't count because there were initially two groups of five teams until Kosovo and Gibraltar were admitted to UEFA. UEFA subsequently decided not to change the rules despite the fact that the groups are now balanced.
The best eight teams on that basis will be drawn - based on seeding - into four two-legged, home-and-away play-off ties, with the ninth team eliminated.
The seeding will be based on the next update to the FIFA world rankings, which will make Switzerland, Italy, Denmark and Croatia the seeded teams and Sweden, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Greece the unseeded teams.
The winners of those ties will qualify for the World Cup finals.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland (PO) | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 6 | +12 | 21 |
| 2 | Italy (PO) | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 17 |
| 3 | Denmark (PO) | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 14 |
| 4 | Croatia (PO) | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 14 |
| 5 | Sweden (PO) | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 18 | 9 | +9 | 13 |
| 6 | Northern Ireland (PO) | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 13 |
| 7 | Greece (PO) | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 13 |
| 8 | Republic of Ireland (PO) | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 13 |
| 9 | Slovakia (E) | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 12 |
(PO) = qualified for play-off
(E) = eliminated
Bold = final position confirmed
WHEN ARE THE PLAY-OFFS?
FIFA has confirmed that the European qualifiers play-off draw will take place on Tuesday, October 17.
The draw will be held in Zurich and things kick off at 14:00 CET (13:00 GMT), with the event being streamed live on FIFA's website as well as their YouTube channel.
The eight teams involved in the draw will be split into two pots, with the four highest-ranked teams according to the FIFA world rankings in one pot and the four lowest-ranked teams in another.
When will the play-off matches be played?
The dates have not yet been confirmed, but FIFA says that the play-offs are expected to take place between November 9 and 14.