The World Cup preliminaries, referred to as "World Cup preliminaries", are the intercontinental knockout matches in which FIFA registered member countries (regions) participate in the World Cup. They will be held in six regions: Europe, South America, Central and North America and the Caribbean, Asia, Africa and Oceania. In the end, 32 teams will enter the World Cup to compete for the championship.
There are 13 places in the European zone of the 20 18 World Cup qualifier, plus a qualification automatically obtained by the host Russia, Russia has 14 places in the European zone of the 20 18 World Cup.
52 countries in Europe will be divided into 9 groups, 7 of which are composed of 6 teams, and the other 2 groups are composed of 5 teams.
The qualifying rule is that the top nine in the group will advance directly to the World Cup finals, and the second one in the top eight will play off to decide the last four.
The European Group of the World Cup preliminaries will be held from September 4th, 20 16 to June 6th, 20 17, and the first round of the play-offs will be held from September 9th, 2065 438+07 to June 6th, 2065 438+06.
European draw result: (13 finalists)
Group A: Netherlands, France, Sweden, Bulgaria, Belarus and Luxembourg.
Group B: Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Latvia and Andorra.
Group C: Germany, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway, Azerbaijan and San Marino.
Group D: Wales, Austria, Serbia, Ireland, Moldova, Georgia
Group E: Romania, Denmark, Poland, Montenegro, Armenia and Kazakhstan.
Group F: England, Slovakia, Scotland, Slovenia, Lithuania and Malta.
Group G: Spain, Italy, Albania, Israel, Macedonia and Liechtenstein.
Group H: Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Estonia and Cyprus.
Group 1: Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey, Finland.
The 20 18 World Cup qualifiers will only start after the end of the 20 16 European Cup, and the first round of the qualifiers will be held on September 4, 200016.
Group analysis of European preliminaries: the worst European preliminaries in history
In the early morning of July 26th, 20 16, Beijing time, the European qualifiers for the 20 18 World Cup were released. The Netherlands, France and Sweden are in the group of death, while Spain and Italy are in the group of G. Among other traditional strong teams, Portugal can't easily win the first place in the group, and only World Cup champions Germany and England seem to have a smooth road to promotion.
Death squad? It must be team a.
It is said that it is a group of death. This group first gathered two traditional strong teams, France and the Netherlands, and Sweden, which is stronger in the third team. The key reason why this group has the smell of death is not France. Although France's ranking in FIFA has declined, it is more because the team, as the host of the 20 16 European Cup, can basically only pass the time by friendly matches. This team is still playing in the 87th generation, and there are Vallanet, Condobia, Bogba and Grizman in the 90-94 age group. In terms of overall strength, the strongest competitor of this group is Gaul rooster.
Relatively speaking, the Netherlands, which is also a traditional giant, is still quite dangerous. 20 16 European Cup in France is likely to be the farewell match between Sneijder, Van Persie and Robben in intercontinental competitions. At present, the orange army after them has not found a player who can really lead the team, leaving little time for Blind and Van Basten. Look at the team's struggle in the European Cup qualifiers (third in the group). In this group, it is not only difficult, but also a little careless.
Of course, Sweden, as the roof of the world of this group, also has great variables. As the absolute soul of the team, will 33-year-old Ibrahimovic really play in the next World Cup qualifiers? I believe that most people will draw a question mark, but at present, once Ibrahimovic is lost in Sweden, there will be no real champion. Its overall strength may not be much stronger than Bulgaria, but once the Netherlands continues its current decline, Sweden may have the possibility to compete with it for the second place in the group.
Italy and Portugal go to the play-offs?
As champions of the 2006 and 20 10 World Cups, Italy and Spain seem to have passed their peak. Although it is still a top team, it has no hegemony. However, the so-called thin camel is bigger than the horse. With the strength and background of these two teams, it is basically impossible for other teams in this group to shake their top two positions. Albania with few top five league players? Israel with Maccabi as the basic team? Don't even think about qualifying Spain and Italy will compete for the first place. From the overall combat effectiveness, Spain has obvious advantages. Maybe the Blue Shirts will have to try their luck in the play-offs.
Group B, C Ronaldo's Portugal meets Switzerland. If superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is eliminated, Portugal's overall strength may not be above Switzerland, and the World Cup qualifiers will not begin until the second half of next year. Can Cristiano, who is 33 years old, really keep her present state? Even if he can, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to show 100% strength in both the club and the national team as he grows older. Fortunately, the other teams in this group are not strong. Even if it loses to Switzerland, Portugal may have play-offs to count on.
There is no suspense in signing the name of Germany and Britain?
Comparatively speaking, Germany and England should not encounter too much difficulties, especially defending champion Germany. Their strongest opponents in this group are the Czech Republic led by Cech and Northern Ireland dominated by Premier League players. These two teams are currently ranked second in their respective groups in the European Cup qualifiers, and they are competitive to some extent, but it is basically impossible to overthrow the powerful rammstein. The Germans will fully display their rolling style and easily win the first place in the group.
As for England, at first glance, the team consists of Slovakia, which ranks the highest in the second gear, Scotland, which ranks second in the third gear, and Slovenia, which ranks second in the fourth gear. But apart from the civil war in England, Slovakia in Hamsik, Slovenia in Handanovic, or Scotland lacking real big-name players, it may cause some trouble to England in a certain game, but it is self-evident that it is difficult to overwhelm England under the home and away double round robin system.
Other groups: balanced e group or sparks.
The other four teams (Group D, Group E, Group H and Group I) don't have traditional strong teams, but this doesn't mean that these teams are not worthy of attention. Wales and Austria in Group D are currently top of the group in the European Cup qualifiers, and Serbia should not be underestimated; Romania and Poland in Group E were also first in the European preliminaries, and the latter even beat Germany. Denmark and Montenegro in the same group also have certain strength. This group is extremely competitive and can be called the civilian version of the death group; Belgium in Group H should be able to get the first place relatively easily; Croatia in Group I is also superior in strength, and other teams may only compete for the second place in the group.