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World Cup 2018: The complete list of who has qualified for Russia

Peru celebrate becoming the final country to qualify for the World Cup - LatinContent WO
Peru celebrate becoming the final country to qualify for the World Cup - LatinContent WO

With Peru beating New Zealand in the final World Cup play-off overnight, we now know the full runners and riders of who will be competing in Russia next summer.

Here's the full rundown.

Which countries have qualified?

  1. Russia: The hosts qualified when they won the chance to host the competition back in Dec 2010.

  2. Brazil: CONMEBOL round robin winners, qualified way back on March 28, 2017

  3. Iran: AFC third round group A winners

  4. Japan: AFC third round group B winners

  5. South Korea: Runners-up to Iran in Group A

  6. Saudi Arabia: Runners-up in Group B

  7. Mexico: North and central America and Caribbean round 5 winners

  8. Belgium: Uefa group H winners (first European team) who qualified on Sept 3

  9. Germany: Sealed their place as Group C winners after beating Northern Ireland 3-1 in Belfast

  10. England: Gareth Southgate's side beat Slovenia at Wembley to secure their spot in Russia as winners of Group F

  11. Poland: Poland became to fourth European team to qualify having dropped points in just two games in Group E

  12. Costa Rica: Reached their fourth World Cup finals with a game remaining from their CONCACAF qualification group

  13. Nigeria: Became the first side from Africa to reach Russia and have now missed just one tournament – Germany 2006 – since first qualifying 1994

  14. Egypt: Mohamed Salah scored twice to send the north Africans into their first finals since 1990

  15. Iceland: Have qualified for their first ever World Cup, pipping Croatia to a guaranteed place in Russia

  16. Serbia: Winners of Group D

  17. Spain: The 2010 champions qualified as Group G winners finishing five points ahead of Italy

  18. France: Qualified as winners of Group A

  19. Portugal: Beat Switzerland in their final qualification game to reach next summer's finals

  20. Panama: Reached their first World Cup after beating Costa Rica in the final group game of their qualification campaign

  21. Argentina: Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick in his side's final qualification game to secure their place in the finals

  22. Uruguay: Finished second to Brazil in their group to secure their place in the finals

  23. Colombia: Took the fourth and final automatic qualification spot in the South American group 

  24. Senegal: CAF Group D winners

  25. Morocco: CAF Group C winners

  26. Tunisia: CAF Group A winners

  27. Switzerland: Won two-leg play-off with Northern Ireland

  28. Croatia: Won two-leg play-off with Greece

  29. Sweden: Won two-leg play-off with Italy

  30. Denmark - Won two-leg play-off with Republic of Ireland

  31. Australia - Defeated Honduras in a two-leg play-off

  32. Peru - Secured last place with victory over New Zealand in two-leg play-off

How the group stages panned out:

Europe 

How many qualify? The top team in each group qualified for Russia, with the eight best runners-up (from the nine groups) going into four play-offs. The four winners of the two-legged play-offs will qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, making a total of 13 teams.

Qualified: France
Play-off spot: Sweden
Eliminated: Belarus, Bulgaria, Holland and Luxembourg

France secured their ticket toe the World Cup finals after Didier Deschamps's side beat Belarus in the final game of their qualification campaign in Paris, while Sweden took the play-off spot.

Belarus, Bulgaria, Holland and Luxembourg all failed to qualify.

Qualified:Portugal
Play-off spot: Switzerland
Eliminated: Andorra, Faroe Islands, Hungary and Latvia

European champions Portugal beat Switzerland 2-0 in Lisbon to progress to the World Cup finals as winners of Group B, while the Swiss went into the play-offs after finishing second on the same points as Fernando Santos's side.

Andorra, Faroe Islands, Hungary and Latvia failed to qualify. 

Qualified:Germany
Play-off spot: Northern Ireland
Eliminated: Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Norway and San Marino

Holders Germany qualified with 30 points having won all 10 of their games in Group C while Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland side claimed a play-off place.

Neither Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Norway or San Marino will be in Russia for the World Cup.

Qualified: Serbia
Play-off spot: Ireland
Eliminated: Austria, Georgia, Moldova and Wales

Serbia finished top of their group with 19 points, leapfrogging Wales at the last. Chris Coleman's 'golden generation' failed to reach a play-off place after losing to Ireland at home in their final match of the qualifying campaign. James McClean's strike was enough to send Martin O'Neill's team through to the play-offs.

Austria, Georgia and Moldova all also missed out on qualifying for the finals.

Qualified:Poland
Play-off spot: Denmark
Eliminated: Armenia, Kazakhstan, Montenegro and Romania

Poland qualified with 25 points having dropped points in just two games while Denmark managed to take the play-off spot ahead of Montenegro who joined Armenia, Kazakhstan and Romania in being eliminated.

Qualified:England
Eliminated: Lithuania, Malta, Scotland, Slovakia and Slovenia

England qualified for Russia following an unbeaten – though largely uninspiring – qualifying campaign in which they won eight games and drew twice.

Qualified: Spain
Play-off spot: Italy
Eliminated: Albania, Israel, Liechtenstein and Macedonia

Spain, the 2010 winners, qualified with a game remaining while Italy claimed a play-off spot. Albania, Israel, Liechtenstein and Macedonia all failed to qualify.

Qualified: Belgium
Play-off spot: Greece
Eliminated: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Estonia and Gibraltar

Belgium were the first European team to qualify with 22 points from eight games while 2004 European champions Greece guaranteed a play-off spot after beating Gibraltar 4-0 in their final game of their qualification campaign.

 Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Estonia and Gibraltar all failed to qualify.

Qualified:Iceland
Play-off spot: Croatia
Eliminated: Finland, Kosovo, Turkey and Ukraine

Iceland got the job done and qualified for their first ever World Cup by beating Kosovo – who have earned just one point – 2-0 in their final match of the group. Croatia claimed a play-off spot. Finland, Kosovo, Turkey and Ukraine did not.

How were the play-off spots determined?

As Uefa say: "The eight runners-up with the best record against the teams first, third, fourth and fifth in their groups proceed to play-offs to decide the remaining four European berths."

The two-leg play-offs were played in November with the winners of the four ties heading to Russia.

  • Northern Ireland  0 Switzerland  1 - (0–1; 0–0) 

  • Croatia 4 Greece 1 - (4–1; 0–0)

  • Denmark  5 Republic of Ireland 1 (0–0; 5-1)

  • Sweden 1 Italy 0 (1–0; 0–0)

  • Peru 2 New Zealand 0 (0-0; 2-0)

Russia's wacky World Cup stadium with an exterior stand ...

What happened in other football confederations?

Africa (CAF)

The five group winners qualified for the World Cup 2018.

Group A

Teams: Tunisia, DR Congo, Guinea, Libya
Qualified: Tunisia
Eliminated: DR Congo, Guinea, Libya

Tunisia won four of their six games to qualify ahead of DR Congo, who were only a point behind. Guinea and Libya also failed to qualify.

Group B

Teams:Nigeria, Zambia, Cameroon, Algeria
Qualified: Nigeria
Eliminated: Algeria, Cameroon and Zambia

Nigeria became the first African side to reach Russia after beating Zambia 1-0 in their penultimate qualifier. The Super Eagles have now missed just one tournament – Germany 2006 – since making their World Cup debut in 1994.

Group C

Teams: Ivory Coast, Morocco, Gabon, Mali
Qualified: Morocco
Eliminated: Ivory Coast, Gabon and Mali

Morocco qualified in an unbeaten campaign, finishing four points ahead of Ivory Coast.

Group D

Teams: Burkina Faso, Senegal, South Africa, Cape Verde
Qualified: Senegal
Eliminated: South Africa, Cape Verde, Burkina Faso

Senegal qualified ahead of Burkina Faso. Cape Verde were third while South Africa finished bottom.

Group E

Teams: Egypt, Uganda, Ghana, Congo

Qualified: Egypt
Eliminated: Congo, Ghana and Uganda

Egypt qualified with a game to play after Mohamed Salah scored a late, late winner against Congo to end a near 30-year wait for Africa's most successful team.

Asia (AFC)

Who qualifies? The two group winners and two runners-up will qualify for Russia 2018. The third-place teams of each group advance to round four. The winner of the two third placed teams have advanced to the intercontinental play-off.

Group A

Teams: Iran, South Korea, Syria, Uzbekistan, China, Qatar
Qualified: Iran, South Korea
Eliminated: China, Qatar, Syria, Uzbekistan

Iran are the group winners and have qualified alongside South Korea. Syria reached the play-of, though lost the two-legged affair against Australia to see their World Cup hopes shattered.

Group B 

Teams: Japan, Saudi Arabia, Australia, UAE, Iraq, Thailand
Qualified: Japan, Saudi Arabia
Advance to intercontinental play-off: Australia
Eliminated: UAE, Iraq and Thailand

Japan and Saudi Arabia have made the World Cup, while Australia became the 31st team to feature after beating Honduras in a two-leg play-off.

North, Central America and Caribbean (CONCACAF)

Who qualifies? The top three qualify, while fourth place advances to an inter-confederation play-off.

Teams: Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, USA
Qualified: Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama
Advance to intercontinental play-off: Honduras
Eliminated: Trinidad and Tobago, USA

Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama all qualified while USA missed out following a shock defeat to Trinidad and Tobago in the final game of their qualification campaign. Honduras were defeated by Australia in an intercontinental play-off.

Oceania (OFC)

How many qualify? One, maybe. The winners of two three-team groups face each other in a two-legged tie. The winner of that will face the fifth place team from CONMEBOL over two legs to decide who goes through.

Teams: New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea Qualified: New Zealand (to face 5th place CONMEBOL team)

Group winners New Zealand and Solomon Islands played each other over two legs, with New Zealand winning. They will play Peru, the fifth-place CONMEBOL team, in November to determine who goes to Russia.

South America (CONMEBOL)

How many qualify? The top four teams from the single group of 10 will qualify, with the fifth placed team advancing to the intercontinental play-off (against New Zealand).

Teams: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
Qualified: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay
Intercontinental play-off spot: Peru
Eliminated: Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay and Venezuela

Brazil qualified comfortably after topping their table with 41 points having lost just one game. Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay also qualified while Peru finished fifth to reach the intercontinental play-offs.

Peru went on to play New Zealand and won 2-0 over two legs.