2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A

The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group A is one of the nine UEFA groups for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. The group consists of six teams: Netherlands, France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus, and Luxembourg.

The draw for the first round (group stage) was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.^[1]^[2]

The group winners will qualify directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Among the nine group runners-up, the eight best runners-up will advance to the play-offs, where they will be drawn into four home-and-away ties to determine the other four qualifiers.^[1]

Standings

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers
In home-and-away league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):^[3] Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss) Goal difference Goals scored Points in matches between tied teams Goal difference in matches between tied teams Goals scored in matches between tied teams Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie is only between two teams) Play-off match(es) on neutral ground (if approved by FIFA Organizing Committee), with extra time and penalty shoot-out if necessary

Pos	Team	Qualification
1	Netherlands	Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup	—	10 Oct '16	10 Oct '17	3 Sep '17	7 Oct '16	9 Jun '17
1	France	Possible second round^{[lower-alpha 1]}	31 Aug '17	—	13 Nov '16	7 Oct '16	10 Oct '17	3 Sep '17
1	Sweden		6 Sep '16	9 Jun '17	—	10 Oct '16	25 Mar '17	7 Oct '17
1	Bulgaria		25 Mar '17	7 Oct '17	31 Aug '17	—	13 Nov '16	6 Sep '16
1	Belarus		7 Oct '17	6 Sep '16	3 Sep '17	9 Jun '17	—	10 Oct '16
1	Luxembourg		13 Nov '16	25 Mar '17	7 Oct '16	10 Oct '17	31 Aug '17	—

First match(es) will be played on 6 September 2016. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Notes:

↑ The eight best runners-up across all groups will advance to the second round (play-offs). The ninth-ranked runners-up will be eliminated.

Matches

The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 26 July 2015, the day following the draw.^[1]^[4] Times are CET/CEST,^{[note 1]} as listed by UEFA (local times are in parentheses).^[5]

Belarus v France

6 September 2016
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Belarus	v	France
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Bulgaria v Luxembourg

6 September 2016
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Bulgaria	v	Luxembourg
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia

Sweden v Netherlands

6 September 2016
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Sweden	v	Netherlands
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Friends Arena, Solna

France v Bulgaria

7 October 2016
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

France	v	Bulgaria
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Luxembourg v Sweden

7 October 2016
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Luxembourg	v	Sweden
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City

Netherlands v Belarus

7 October 2016
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Netherlands	v	Belarus
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Belarus v Luxembourg

10 October 2016
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Belarus	v	Luxembourg
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Netherlands v France

10 October 2016
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Netherlands	v	France
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Sweden v Bulgaria

10 October 2016
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Sweden	v	Bulgaria
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Friends Arena, Solna

Bulgaria v Belarus

13 November 2016
18:00
(19:00 UTC+2)

Bulgaria	v	Belarus
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia

Luxembourg v Netherlands

13 November 2016
18:00
(18:00 UTC+1)

Luxembourg	v	Netherlands
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City

France v Sweden

13 November 2016
20:45
(20:45 UTC+1)

France	v	Sweden
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Sweden v Belarus

25 March 2017
18:00
(18:00 UTC+1)

Sweden	v	Belarus
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Friends Arena, Solna

Bulgaria v Netherlands

25 March 2017
20:45
(21:45 UTC+2)

Bulgaria	v	Netherlands
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia

Luxembourg v France

25 March 2017
20:45
(20:45 UTC+1)

Luxembourg	v	France
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City

Belarus v Bulgaria

9 June 2017
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Belarus	v	Bulgaria
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Netherlands v Luxembourg

9 June 2017
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Netherlands	v	Luxembourg
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Sweden v France

9 June 2017
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Sweden	v	France
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Friends Arena, Solna

Bulgaria v Sweden

31 August 2017
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Bulgaria	v	Sweden
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia

France v Netherlands

31 August 2017
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

France	v	Netherlands
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Luxembourg v Belarus

31 August 2017
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Luxembourg	v	Belarus
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City

Belarus v Sweden

3 September 2017
18:00
(19:00 UTC+3)

Belarus	v	Sweden
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Netherlands v Bulgaria

3 September 2017
18:00
(18:00 UTC+2)

Netherlands	v	Bulgaria
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

France v Luxembourg

3 September 2017
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

France	v	Luxembourg
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Sweden v Luxembourg

7 October 2017
18:00
(18:00 UTC+2)

Sweden	v	Luxembourg
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Friends Arena, Solna

Belarus v Netherlands

7 October 2017
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Belarus	v	Netherlands
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Bulgaria v France

7 October 2017
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

Bulgaria	v	France
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia

France v Belarus

10 October 2017
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

France	v	Belarus
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Luxembourg v Bulgaria

10 October 2017
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Luxembourg	v	Bulgaria
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City

Netherlands v Sweden

10 October 2017
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Netherlands	v	Sweden
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Notes

↑ CET (UTC+1) for matches on 13 November 2016 and 25 March 2017, and CEST (UTC+2) for all other matches.

References

1 2 3 "FIFA World Cup qualifying draw format". UEFA.com. 16 June 2015.
↑ "European teams learn World Cup qualifying fate". UEFA.com. 25 July 2015.
↑ "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com.
↑ "World Cup European Qualifiers fixtures confirmed". UEFA.com. 26 July 2015.
↑ "Fixture List – 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition" (PDF). UEFA.com.

External links

Official FIFA World Cup website
- Qualifiers – Europe: Round 1, FIFA.com
FIFA World Cup, UEFA.com
- Standings – Qualifying round: Group A, UEFA.com

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

AFC	First Round Second Round Third Round Fourth Round (play-off for 5th place)

CAF	First Round Second Round Third Round

CONCACAF	First Round Second Round Third Round Fourth Round Fifth Round

CONMEBOL	Round Robin

OFC	First Round Second Round (Nations Cup) Third Round

UEFA	First Round Group A Group B Group C Group D Group E Group F Group G Group H Group I Second Round (play-offs)

Play-offs	CONCACAF v AFC OFC v CONMEBOL

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