The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Preliminary Draw was held on Saturday at the Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. After the teams from the other continental federations were drawn into their matches, the event concluded with the teams from Europe learning their fate. Host country Russia is automatically qualified into the finals. This leaves 52 member associations battling it out for 13 slots.

Like Us on Facebook

Draw Assistants: Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Oliver Bierhoff

Round 1:

The 52 participating teams will be drawn into nine groups. Seven out of the nine groups will have six teams. The remaining two groups will have only five teams. The round robin matches will be played in a home and away format.

The first round is scheduled to be played between September 2016 and October 2017.

According to the FIFA website, UEFA requested England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands to be drawn into a group containing six teams.

The winners from the nine groups will take the first nine European slots for the finals in Russia. the other four spots will be contested in round 2 of the qualifiers.

The groups proved to be formidable with several big rivalries being highlighted. Spain and Italy are pitted against each other in group G. Spain won the FIFA World Cup in 2010 in South Africa. Italy won the event before them when the finals were held in Germany in 2006.

Another big rivalry could be seen in group F where England and Scotland have been drawn together. Germany will be defending their title against Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan, San Marino and Norway in group C.

Full Group Stage Draw: 

Group A: 1. Netherlands 2. France 3. Sweden 4. Bulgaria 5. Belarus 6. Luxembourg

Group B: 1. Portugal 2. Switzerland 3. Hungary 4. Faroe Islands 5. Latvia 6. Andorra

Group C: 1. Germany 2. Czech Republic 3. Northern Ireland 4. Norway 5. Azerbaijan 6. San Marino

Group D: 1. Wales 2. Austria 3. Serbia 4. Republic of Ireland 5. Moldova 6. Georgia

Group E: 1. Romania 2. Denmark 3. Poland 4. Montenegro 5. Armenia 6. Kazakhstan

Group F: 1. England 2. Slovakia 3. Scotland 4. Slovenia 5. Lithuania 6. Malta

Group G: 1. Spain 2. Italy 3. Albania 4. Israel 5. FYR Macedonia 6. Liechtenstein

Group H: 1. Belgium 2. Bosnia-Herzegovina 3. Greece 4. Estonia 5. Cyprus

Group I: 1. Croatia 2. Iceland 3. Ukraine 4. Turkey 5. Finland

Round 2:

Once the round robin stage has been concluded, the eight best group runners up will play against each other in home and away playoffs. These matches will take place in November 2017. The four victorious teams will complete the 13 European teams eligible to compete at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

The complete draw for all continental federations could be found in the FIFA official website. 

Tags2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia, Football, Qualifiers, Preliminary Draw, Germany, England, Spain, Italy, Group Stage