On Tuesday 10 October, a total of nine games will be played in Groups A, B and H of 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ European Zone qualifying. We run through the qualification permutations below.
Who has already qualified from the three groups? Belgium
Who is out of the running? Bulgaria, Belarus, Luxembourg, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Andorra, Estonia, Cyprus and Gibraltar
What's at stake? The group winners qualify directly for Russia 2018, with the eight best second-placed sides going into the play-offs. The four play-off ties will be contested over two legs (home and away), with the winners of each tie claiming the last four European tickets to the world finals.
*The best runners-up will be confirmed at the end of this matchday.
**Group A
France will go through if they beat Belarus, OR if they draw AND Sweden DO NOT win against the Netherlands, OR if they lose AND **Sweden also lose.
Sweden will qualify if they win OR draw AND France lose, OR if they win AND France draw. The Netherlands will finish second if they beat Sweden by seven goals or more.
**Group B
Switzerland will qualify if they draw OR **win against Portugal.
Portugal will go through if they beat Switzerland because they have a superior goal difference.
**Group H
**With Belgium already through, the focus is on the battle for second place.
Greece will finish as runners-up if they overcome Gibraltar, OR if they draw OR lose AND Bosnia-Herzegovina do NOT beat Estonia.
Bosnia will take second spot if they win AND Greece DO NOT beat Gibraltar.
What are the tie-breakers? Article 20.6 of the Regulations outlines what should happen should two teams or more finish level on points in more detail. Who finishes above will be decided by comparing each of these criteria in order:
Goal difference
Goals scored
Head-to-head points
Head-to-head goal difference
Head-to-head goals scored
Head-to-head away goals
Fair play points
Drawing of lots