2018_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_–_UEFA_Group_H

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group H

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group H

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The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group H was one of the nine UEFA groups for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. The group consisted of six teams: Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus, and Gibraltar.

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] Gibraltar was added to the group after the draw, after becoming FIFA members together with Kosovo in May 2016,[3] and UEFA decided not to put Kosovo in same group as Bosnia and Herzegovina for security reasons.[4][5]

The group winners, Belgium, qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The group runners-up, Greece, advanced to the play-offs as one of the best eight runners-up.

Russia was initially partnered with the five-team Group H, which enabled the 2018 World Cup hosts to play centralised friendlies against these countries on their "spare" match dates.[6] These friendlies would not have counted in the qualifying group standings. However, after the group was later expanded to include Gibraltar, these friendly matches were cancelled.

Standings

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[7]
  1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
  2. Overall goal difference
  3. Overall goals scored
  4. Points in matches between tied teams
  5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
  6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
  7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie was only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
  8. Fair play points
    • first yellow card: minus 1 point
    • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
    • direct red card: minus 4 points
    • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
  9. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

More information Pos, Team ...
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Matches

The fixture list prior to the inclusion of Gibraltar was confirmed by UEFA on 26 July 2015, the day following the draw.[1][8] Times are CET/CEST,[note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times are in parentheses).[9]

More information Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5–0 ...
Attendance: 8,820
More information Cyprus, 0–3 ...
Attendance: 12,029
More information Gibraltar, 1–4 ...
Attendance: 460
More information Belgium, 4–0 ...
Attendance: 42,653
More information Estonia, 4–0 ...
Attendance: 4,678
More information Greece, 2–0 ...
Attendance: 16,512
More information Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2–0 ...
Attendance: 8,900
More information Estonia, 0–2 ...
Attendance: 4,467
Referee: István Vad (Hungary)
More information Gibraltar, 0–6 ...
Attendance: 1,959
More information Cyprus, 3–1 ...
Attendance: 3,151
More information Belgium, 8–1 ...
Attendance: 37,128
More information Greece, 1–1 ...
Attendance: 20,075
More information Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5–0 ...
Attendance: 8,285
More information Cyprus, 0–0 ...
Attendance: 3,864
Referee: Ville Nevalainen (Finland)
More information Belgium, 1–1 ...
Attendance: 42,281
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
More information Bosnia and Herzegovina, 0–0 ...
Attendance: 11,000
More information Estonia, 0–2 ...
Attendance: 10,176
More information Gibraltar, 1–2 ...
Attendance: 488
Referee: Nikola Popov (Bulgaria)
More information Belgium, 9–0 ...
Attendance: 24,050
More information Cyprus, 3–2 ...
Attendance: 4,143
More information Greece, 0–0 ...
Attendance: 12,379
Referee: Liran Liany (Israel)
More information Estonia, 1–0 ...
Attendance: 5,491
More information Greece, 1–2 ...
Attendance: 29,465
More information Gibraltar, 0–4 ...
Attendance: 805
Referee: Þorvaldur Árnason (Iceland)
More information Gibraltar, 0–6 ...
Attendance: 750
Referee: Fran Jović (Croatia)
More information Bosnia and Herzegovina, 3–4 ...
Attendance: 9,657
More information Cyprus, 1–2 ...
Attendance: 7,222
More information Belgium, 4–0 ...
Attendance: 37,765
Referee: Luca Banti (Italy)
More information Estonia, 1–2 ...
Attendance: 4,967
More information Greece, 4–0 ...
Attendance: 12,739
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia)

Goalscorers

There were 109 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 3.63 goals per match.

11 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Discipline

A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[11]

  • Receiving a red card (red card suspensions could be extended for serious offences)
  • Receiving two yellow cards in two different matches (yellow card suspensions were carried forward to the play-offs, but not the finals or any other future international matches)

The following suspensions were served during the qualifying matches:

More information Player, Team ...

Notes

  1. [N 1]
    CET (UTC+1) for matches on 13 November 2016 and 25 March 2017, and CEST (UTC+2) for all other matches.
  2. [N 2]
    Gibraltar play their home matches at Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé in Portugal instead of their regular stadium, Victoria Stadium, in Gibraltar.
  3. [N 3]
    Bosnia and Herzegovina were sanctioned by FIFA to play one home match (against Belgium on 7 October 2017) away from Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica due to a series of incidents during their home match against Greece.[10]

References

  1. [1]
    "FIFA World Cup qualifying draw format". UEFA.com. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2016.
  2. [2]
    "European teams learn World Cup qualifying fate". UEFA.com. 25 July 2015. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015.
  3. [3]
    "FIFA Congress drives football forward, first female secretary general appointed". FIFA.com. 13 May 2016. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016.
  4. [4]
    "Kosovo to play in Group I in European Qualifiers". uefa.org. Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). 9 June 2016. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016.
  5. [5]
    "Kosovo and Gibraltar assigned to 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying groups". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). 9 June 2016. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016.
  6. [6]
    "Fixture List – Centralised friendlies" (PDF). UEFA. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  7. [7]
    "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016.
  8. [8]
    "World Cup European Qualifiers fixtures confirmed". UEFA.com. 26 July 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016.
  9. [9]
    "Fixture List – 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition" (PDF). UEFA.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2015.
  10. [10]
    "Disciplinary Overview - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Qualifiers (July 2017)" (PDF). FIFA.com. 27 July 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2017.
  11. [11]
    "Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2014-16" (PDF). UEFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2013.
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