Index 2017

GENERAL ELECTION Full results
08.05 In the hands of the youth?
10.05 Young hearts run free as May clings on

FOOTBALL
Domestic
13.05 NUFC: Mission accomplished
07.06 For the record: Winners and losers
11.08 Premier League preview: Can Chelsea defend their title?
World Cup 2018
11.10 Undewhelming England reach World Cup in Russia
16.11 Playoffs: Arrivederci Azzurri, Ireland and Northern Ireland
01.12 Draw: England can breathe in Group of Life
 
CRICKET
05.07 Taking Root
Ashes 2017/18
22.11 Adversity test for England in Ashes defence
18.12 Dust to dust 

OTHER WRITE-UPS
30.06 Glastonbury: A worthy return
09.07 Lions roar to series draw
02.11 High-rolling Hamilton completes his quadruple

PHOTO BLOG
11.11 Lest we forget

Dust to dust

		THE ASHES SERIES 2017-18
23-27 Nov 2017		FIRST Australia beat England by 10 wickets	Brisbane
02-06 Dec 2017		SECOND Australia beat England by 120 runs	Adelaide (D/N)
14-18 Dec 2017		THIRD Australia beat England by an innings and 41 runs	Perth
25-29 Dec 2017		FOURTH TEST	Melbourne
03-07 Jan 2018		FIFTH TEST	Sydney

ENGLAND surrendered the Ashes urn this morning as Australia took an unassailable lead with a crushing innings victory in the third Test in Perth.

The tourists lost their last four wickets for 22 runs to go 3-0 down in the series - and they now face the devastating prospect of a third whitewash Down Under in just 11 years.

As it stands, a whitewash result is now the odds-on favourite with most bookmakers. Yes, that is how little regard there now remains for this England side.

That should come as no surprise really. After all, the tourists have been outplayed in every facet of the game, and Australia have had almost a monopoly on the truly magic moments in the series.

From Nathan Lyon's superman dive, with which he executed his caught-and-bowled dismissal of Moeen Ali, to Mitchell Starc's incredible jaffa that splattered James Vince's stumps.

And then, of course, there has been the not-so-insignificant matter of Steve Smith's imperious form with the bat.

In four innings so far, the Aussie skipper has scored a ton and a double ton in an aggregate of 426 runs at an average of 142. His figures, quite frankly, are Bradman-esque.

By contrast, Alastair Cook and Joe Root have scored a combined total of 259 runs at a hideous average of 21.59. Cook's top score is just 37.

Yet, despite all this, England have had fleeting moments of hope.

In the first Test in Brisbane, the tourists appeared to be heading for a first innings lead having reduced the Aussies to 209-7 in reply to their own 302.

But it was in fact Australia who took a 26-run lead into the second innings before openers David Warner and Cameron Bancroft then easily knocked off the required runs following an England collapse.

In the second Test in Adelaide, England blew another opportunity having taken the second new ball with Australia on 209-5.

Of course, the day-night match in Adelaide was always meant to represent the best chance of England securing a victory in the series with the conditions under lights bringing swing and seam into the equation.

Joe Root inserted the Aussies at the toss hoping to dismiss them cheaply but he then watched on forlornly as his attack bowled too short and the hosts declared on 442-8.

Belatedly, two of the English bowlers - James Anderson and Chris Woakes - adjusted their lengths and duly tore through the Australians in the second innings.

By then, though, England - who had been bowled out for 227 - needed to complete a record run-chase of 353 to avoid going 2-0 down.

At the end of the penultimate day, England had reached 176-4 and were talking up their hopes of completing an incredible comeback victory.

It was a record chase for a reason, however - and, once Root departed without having added to his overnight score, England proceeded to lose their remaining wickets before lunch.

And so to Perth - and what is expected to be the last ever Ashes Test at the WACA.

The WACA is a venue at which England have historically struggled. They have won just once there ever - back in 1978 - against an Australian side severely weakened by defections to Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket.

In fact, the last seven Ashes Tests in Perth had all gone the way of Australia with even the gloriously victorious 2010-11 tour party going down to a heavy defeat there.

Back to this series - and England, having won the toss for a third successive time, decided to bat - but, to the great surprise of nobody, found themselves in some trouble on 131-4.

Nevertheless, another of those fleeting moments of hope then happened to come along. Ashes rookie Dawid Malan completed a maiden international ton as part of a 237-run stand for the fifth wicket alongside fellow centurion Jonny Bairstow.

Typically, though, the tourists then lost 6-35 for a final first innings total of 403. It was never going to be enough on a true WACA deck.

This was especially the case considering the obvious weaknesses of the England bowling attack with their lack of pace and variation exacerbated by the lack of a top-quality spinner.

No fewer than five bowlers - Anderson, Woakes, Craig Overton, Ali, and Stuart Broad - conceded a century of runs in the Australian innings of 662-9 declared. Broad, indeed, recorded his worst ever Test figures of 0-142. 

England ultimately failed to make Australia bat again making it the third time in just over 12 months that they have lost by innings despite scoring 400 runs first up.

Remarkably, that was something which had only previously happened on three occasions in the entirety of Test history prior to December 2016.

With statistics like that, it is difficult to see any way forward for England in terms of avoiding the whitewash - something that could not be said even amid the struggles of the 1990s.

For, while England failed to hold the Ashes for a single day in the whole of that decade, and nearly half of the next, they were also never whitewashed during that period. 

Even Down Under, on tours in 1990-91, 1994-95, and 1998-99, the tourists managed to avoid defeat in one of the first three Tests of the series.

But, already, that has proven to be beyond this England side - just as it was in 2002-03, 2006-07 and 2013-14. 

Indeed, England have now lost their last eight Test matches in a row in Australia, their worst run since the 1920s.

The stats are damning while the performance level of some of the senior players in particular has been pathetic.

England have once again lost the Ashes before Christmas. Now, we simply wait to find out if they can salvage anything at all from the ruins of this tour.

CENTURIES
239 Steve Smith (Australia), third Test
181 Mitchell Marsh (Australia), third Test
141* Steve Smith (Australia), first Test
140 Dawid Malan (England), third Test
126* Shaun Marsh (Australia), second Test
119 Jonny Bairstow (England), third Test

MOST RUNS - TOP FIVE
426 Steve Smith (Australia)
302 Dawid Malan (England)
241 Jonny Bairstow (England)
224 Shaun Marsh (Australia)
196 David Warner (Australia)
 
FIVE-WICKET HAULS
5-43 James Anderson (England), second Test
5-48 Josh Hazlewood (Australia), third Test
5-88 Mitchell Starc (Australia), second Test

MOST WICKETS - TOP FIVE
19 Mitchell Starc (Australia)
15 Josh Hazlewood (Australia) 
14 Nathan Lyon (Australia)
12 James Anderson (England)
11 Pat Cummins (Australia)

World Cup 2018 finals draw: England can breathe in Group of Life

2018 WORLD CUP FINALS DRAW

GROUP A	GROUP B	GROUP C	GROUP D
RUSSIA	PORTUGAL	FRANCE	ARGENTINA
SAUDI ARABIA	SPAIN	AUSTRALIA	ICELAND
EGYPT	MOROCCO	PERU	CROATIA
URUGUAY	IRAN	DENMARK	NIGERIA
GROUP E	GROUP F	GROUP G	GROUP H
BRAZIL	GERMANY	BELGIUM	POLAND
SWITZERLAND	MEXICO	PANAMA	SENEGAL
COSTA RICA	SWEDEN	TUNISIA	COLOMBIA
SERBIA	SOUTH KOREA	ENGLAND	JAPAN

ENGLAND have been drawn against Tunisia, Panama and Belgium in Group G at next year's World Cup finals in Russia.

The Three Lions will begin their tournament against the Tunisians on Monday 18th June at 7pm in a repeat of their opening fixture at the 1998 World Cup which they won 2-0.

Head coach Gareth Southgate was on the pitch in Marseille that day - and he will be looking for a similar result when he takes his place on the touchline in Volgograd.

Thereafter, England face tournament debutants Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on 24th June at 1pm, before finishing the group stage against top seeds Belgium on 28th June in Kaliningrad.

Currently ranked fifth, the Red Devils undoubtedly have a hugely talented side with the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne all among the best players in the Premier League.

Their head coach - former Wigan Athletic and Everton boss Roberto Martinez - is a familiar face too.

However, having been second seeds, England were always going to face at least one high quality opponent - and thankfully the rest of the draw has been pretty kind.

Even Group H - which features Poland, Senegal, Colombia and Japan as possible Last 16 opponents - could have been far more frightening.

But Southgate urged caution at the draw which was hosted by Three Lions legend Gary Lineker at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow.

"My experience of tournaments is you need to get a result in all three matches," Southgate said. "In the past we've assumed we'll be in certain rounds but we need to make sure we get out of our group." 

Hosts Russia were perhaps given the weakest group, in terms of the rankings, which they could mathematically have drawn.

Stanislav Cherchesov's men open the whole tournament against Saudi Arabia on Thursday 14th June before going on to face Egypt - who are appearing in their first World Cup since 1990 - and then an ageing Uruguay side.

France, similarly, can have no complaints at having been placed in Group C alongside Denmark, Australia, and Peru - who will be making their first appearance since 1982.

Group B, however, appears to be a different matter altogether. European Champions Portugal, ranked third, will begin their campaign in an Iberian derby against 2010 champions Spain in Sochi on Friday 15th June.

Meanwhile, Iran and Morocco are the other teams in the section, both having qualified convincingly from the Asian and African sections respectively.

Elsewhere, defending champions Germany will surely be given a stern workout by their opponents Mexico, Sweden, and South Korea.

The Swedes, in particular, will be ones to watch considering they have already accounted for the Netherlands and Italy in the qualifying stages.

Of course, if the Nationalmannschaft happen to slip into second, they could be reacquainted with Brazil who they beat 7-1 in Belo Horizonte in the semi finals of the last World Cup.

Brazil, after all, have somewhat recovered from that mauling, and so would expect to leave their group opponents - Switzerland, Costa Rica, and Serbia - fighting it out for just the one other spot in the Last 16.

Not that long-time German head coach Joachim Loew seemed particularly worried.

"At such a draw everything is possible. Whatever the group, we have to advance. I was generally relaxed. There is no reason for us to be nervous," he said.

There is, however, understandable concern in Argentina. A mess of a qualifying campaign was only saved on the final day by a Lionel Messi hat-trick - and their first opponents, debutants Iceland, know a little bit about bloodying a nose or two.

Croatia could also prove tricky - and then there is Nigeria, a familiar World Cup foe.

Remarkably, the fixture on 26th June means the Super Eagles will have met La Albiceleste on five of their six finals appearances.

For now, the Argentines have a perfect record in World Cup matches between the pair - but they were beaten 4-2 in a recent international following a second half capitulation.

Vulnerability undoubtedly hangs in the air in Buenos Aires currently - and, in fairness, it never feels far away from the Three Lions either.

After all, we have been here before - and relatively recently at that.

In 2010, The Sun newspaper reacted to the news that England would face Algeria, Slovenia and United States by printing EASY in big letters on its front page.

England did make it through the group - but only in second place behind the Americans, and they were then thumped 4-1 by Germany in the Last 16.

Thankfully, though, there was equally no repeat of the cut-throat gesture given by former Football Association chairman Greg Dyke at the 2014 draw when England were grouped with Italy, Uruguay, and Costa Rica.

For, if England are to get anywhere, they simply must have more self-belief than that.

And, while they certainly cannot be considered among the favourites for the World Cup itself, the draw has presented Southgate's men with a genuine chance of a decent showing in Russia next summer.

Now, where did I put that bunting?

GROUP A RUSSIA - SAUDI ARABIA - EGYPT - URUGUAY

Time	Date		Venue
4pm	Thu 14 June	RUSSIA v SAUDI ARABIA	Moscow
1pm	Fri 15 June	EGYPT v URUGUAY	Yekaterinburg
7pm	Tue 19 June	RUSSIA v EGYPT	Saint Petersburg
4pm	Wed 20 June	URUGUAY v SAUDI ARABIA	Rostov-on-Don
3pm	Mon 25 June	URUGUAY v RUSSIA	Samara
3pm	Mon 25 June	SAUDI ARABIA v EGYPT	Volgograd

GROUP B PORTUGAL - SPAIN - MOROCCO - IRAN

Time	Date		Venue
4pm	Fri 15 June	MOROCCO v IRAN	Saint Petersburg
7pm	Fri 15 June	PORTUGAL v SPAIN	Sochi
1pm	Wed 20 June	PORTUGAL v MOROCCO	Moscow
7pm	Wed 20 June	IRAN v SPAIN	Kazan
7pm	Mon 25 June	IRAN v PORTUGAL	Saransk
7pm	Mon 25 June	SPAIN v MOROCCO	Kaliningrad

GROUP C FRANCE - AUSTRALIA - PERU - DENMARK

Time	Date		Venue
11am	Sat 16 June	FRANCE v AUSTRALIA	Kazan
5pm	Sat 16 June	PERU v DENMARK	Saransk
1pm	Thu 21 June	FRANCE v PERU	Yekaterinburg
4pm	Thu 21 June	DENMARK v AUSTRALIA	Samara
3pm	Tue 26 June	DENMARK v FRANCE	Moscow
3pm	Tue 26 June	AUSTRALIA v PERU	Sochi

GROUP D ARGENTINA - ICELAND - CROATIA - NIGERIA

Time	Date		Venue
2pm	Sat 16 June	ARGENTINA v ICELAND	Moscow
8pm	Sat 16 June	CROATIA v NIGERIA	Kaliningrad
7pm	Thu 21 June	ARGENTINA v CROATIA	Nizhny Novgorod
4pm	Fri 22 June	NIGERIA v ICELAND	Volgograd
7pm	Tue 26 June	NIGERIA v ARGENTINA	Saint Petersburg
7pm	Tue 26 June	ICELAND v CROATIA	Rostov-on-Don

GROUP E BRAZIL - SWITZERLAND - COSTA RICA - SERBIA

Time	Date		Venue
1pm	Sun 17 June	COSTA RICA v SERBIA	Samara
7pm	Sun 17 June	BRAZIL v SWITZERLAND	Rostov-on-Don
1pm	Fri 22 June	BRAZIL v COSTA RICA	Saint Petersburg
7pm	Fri 22 June	SERBIA v SWITZERLAND	Kaliningrad
7pm	Wed 27 June	SERBIA v BRAZIL	Moscow
7pm	Wed 27 June	SWITZERLAND v COSTA RICA	Nizhny Novgorod

GROUP F GERMANY - MEXICO - SWEDEN - SOUTH KOREA

Time	Date		Venue
4pm	Sun 17 June	GERMANY v MEXICO	Moscow
1pm	Mon 18 June	SWEDEN v SOUTH KOREA	Nizhny Novgorod
4pm	Sat 23 June	GERMANY v SWEDEN	Sochi
7pm	Sat 23 June	SOUTH KOREA v MEXICO	Rostov-on-Don
3pm	Wed 27 June	SOUTH KOREA v GERMANY	Kazan
3pm	Wed 27 June	MEXICO v SWEDEN	Yekaterinburg

GROUP G BELGIUM - PANAMA - TUNISIA - ENGLAND

Time	Date		Venue
4pm	Mon 18 June	BELGIUM v PANAMA	Sochi
7pm	Mon 18 June	TUNISIA v ENGLAND	Volgograd
1pm	Sat 23 June	BELGIUM v TUNISIA	Moscow
1pm	Sun 24 June	ENGLAND v PANAMA	Nizhny Novgorod
7pm	Thu 28 June	ENGLAND v BELGIUM	Kaliningrad
7pm	Thu 28 June	PANAMA v TUNISIA	Saransk

GROUP H POLAND - SENEGAL - COLOMBIA - JAPAN

Time	Date		Venue
1pm	Tue 19 June	POLAND v SENEGAL	Moscow
4pm	Tue 19 June	COLOMBIA v JAPAN	Saransk
4pm	Sun 24 June	JAPAN v SENEGAL	Yekaterinburg
7pm	Sun 24 June	POLAND v COLOMBIA	Kazan
3pm	Thu 28 June	JAPAN v POLAND	Volgograd
3pm	Thu 28 June	SENEGAL v COLOMBIA	Samara

SECOND ROUND

Time	Date		Venue
3pm	Sat 30 June	(1) WINNER C v RUNNER-UP D	Kazan
7pm	Sat 30 June	(2) WINNER A v RUNNER-UP B	Sochi
3pm	Sun 01 July	(3) WINNER B v RUNNER-UP A	Moscow
7pm	Sun 01 July	(4) WINNER D v RUNNER-UP C	Nizhny Novgorod
3pm	Mon 02 July	(5) WINNER E v RUNNER-UP F	Samara
7pm	Mon 02 July	(6) WINNER G v RUNNER-UP H	Rostov-on-Don
3pm	Tue 03 July	(7) WINNER F v RUNNER-UP E	Saint Petersburg
7pm	Tue 03 July	(8) WINNER H v RUNNER-UP G	Moscow

QUARTER FINALS

Time	Date		Venue
3pm	Fri 06 July	WINNER (1) v WINNER (2)	Nizhny Novgorod
7pm	Fri 06 July	WINNER (5) v WINNER (6)	Kazan
3pm	Sat 07 July	WINNER (7) v WINNER (8)	Samara
7pm	Sat 07 July	WINNER (3) v WINNER (4)	Sochi

SEMI FINALS

Time	Date		Venue
7pm	Tue 10 July	WINNER QF1 v WINNER QF2	Saint Petersburg
7pm	Wed 11 July	WINNER QF3 v WINNER QF4	Moscow

THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF

Time	Date		Venue
3pm	Sat 14 July	LOSER SF1 v LOSER SF2	Saint Petersburg

WORLD CUP FINAL

Time	Date		Venue
4pm	Sun 15 July	WINNER SF1 v WINNER SF2	Moscow

Adversity test for England in Ashes defence

		THE ASHES SERIES 2017-18
23-27 November 2017	00:00	FIRST TEST	Brisbane
02-06 December 2017	04:00	SECOND TEST	Adelaide (D/N)
14-18 December 2017	02:30	THIRD TEST	Perth
25-29 December 2017	23:30	FOURTH TEST	Melbourne
03-07 January 2018	23:30	FIFTH TEST	Sydney

Dates and times are GMT. (D/N) Day/night Test.

ENGLAND begin their bid to keep hold of the Ashes overnight as the oldest cricket rivalry in the world resumes with the first Test at the Gabba in Brisbane.

Joe Root's men enter the latest edition of this perpetual contest confident in the knowledge that they have won four of their last five series against Australia.

However, three of those wins came at home - and the team's most recent visit Down Under, the so-called Pomnishambles tour - ended in a humiliating 5-0 whitewash to the Aussies.

Already this time, without a single ball having even been bowled, England have faced a few notable setbacks.

Most prominently, they are without the services of their best all-round player, Ben Stokes, following his arrest on suspicion of assault after an incident near a night club in Bristol in the early hours of 25 September.

Stokes had been named in the original squad in an announcement on 27 September which actually raised a few eyebrows on several counts.

But, following a review of video footage published in The Sun, the 26-year-old Durham all-rounder was withdrawn from the touring party "until further notice", pending an investigation.

Of course, there is still a chance at this stage that Stokes may yet play a part later in the tour if the charges against him are dropped.

The case against him is not clear-cut, with the Sun newspaper also publishing a later story in which two men hailed Stokes as a hero for protecting them from homophobic abuse on the night of the alleged assault.

For now, though, England must make do without him - or indeed his named replacement, Steven Finn, who was forced to pull out of the series on 7 November with a serious knee injury.

At least Root's men head into the winter having won the first two series under him at home this summer.

But, despite those victories over South Africa and West Indies, the same old batting problems persisted at slots two, three and five.

Dawid Malan, Gary Ballance and James Vince were all therefore rather unconvincing selections, particularly in the cases of Ballance and Vince.

Meanwhile, Mark Stoneman will be playing just his fourth Test when he takes to the crease to open the batting with Alastair Cook.

Stoneman has at least played himself into a bit of form already with a century and three half-centuries in the warm-up matches - and he certainly looks a far better bet than the painfully statuesque Keaton Jennings.

More worryingly, though, England have continued to struggle in adverse situations as a collective.

Indeed, it is something which has affected the consistency of their performances for several years now.

They usually either win handsomely or lose horribly with no middle ground, and often no sign of steel or fight in the players if they fall behind in a game.

Such weakness is exactly what the Australian pace bowlers love to prey upon. No one will ever forget the way Mitchell Johnson terrorised the English batsmen in the 2013-14 whitewash.

And, while Johnson has now retired, his natural successor - Mitchell Starc - warmed up for the series by becoming the first bowler in Sheffield Shield history to take a hat-trick in both innings of a match.

England simply cannot allow Starc - or Josh Hazlewood - to bully them in the way that Johnson did. They must stand up to the challenge that awaits, and perhaps they might just surprise themselves a little.

After all, it is not all doom and gloom heading into the Gabba.

There are, in fact, some genuine grounds for optimism on the basis that the Australian batting is not in particularly good shape either.

Just as England have Cook and captain Root as mainstays in the top six but offer little else, the Aussies appear to have an over-reliance on David Warner and skipper Steve Smith.
 
It would be fair to say then that there has been just as much head-scratching from the Australian selectors ahead of the first Test.

Unfortunately for them, though, their eventual decisions have gone down like a lead balloon among the press and public Down Under.

Chief among the grievances is the shock recall of 32-year-old Tim Paine, a wicketkeeper who played his most recent Test seven years ago.

Bizarrely, Paine has not even been taking the gloves for his state side, Tasmania, and his most recent first-class ton came back in 2006.

The umpteenth return of Shaun Marsh is not exactly the most inspiring news, either. Meanwhile, young Middlesbrough-born opener Matt Renshaw is one of six players dropped from their most recent Test, despite that being a hard-fought win in Bangladesh.

Former Aussie leg-spinner Stuart MacGill took to Twitter to refer to the selectors as "morons masquerading as mentors" while Australian Test Match Special commentator Jim Maxwell described them as "unhinged".

And so, there are already signs that, if Australia struggle in Brisbane, their fickle supporters could turn against them.

It is not just England who will be feeling the pressure. As such, it is essential that the tourists get a good start at the Gabba - though history shows that is far easier said than done.

The Aussies have not lost a Test match to any opponent on the Brisbane ground since 1988 - and England last won there on their successful 1986-87 tour, although they did secure a draw in 2010.

A strong start is vital then, especially in this particular series - as opportunity knocks in the second Test in Adelaide.

That match - regardless of what actually happens on the pitch - will go down in history as the first ever day-night Ashes Test.

And, of course, England hope that the evening sessions - with the pink ball under lights - will give their main man James Anderson the chance to swing the ball as prodigiously as we all know he can.

This time then, the Ashes could still be alive at Christmas following the third Test at the WACA in Perth.

Thereafter, the tour moves onto Melbourne for the traditional Boxing Day Test before the Sydney Cricket Ground hosts the fifth and final Test in the first week of 2018. 

In summary, this Ashes series appears to be a relatively evenly-matched contest between two sides which are still developing under the guidance of their respective young captains.

Unfortunately, that means home advantage feels as if it is going to be decisive with the hard, bouncy pitches surely favouring the Australian bowlers.

Indeed, if frontline pace pair Starc and Hazlewood remain untroubled by injury throughout the series, the Aussies could easily get on a roll against an England team still so fragile in adversity.

Certainly, this should not turn into another Pomnishambles tour - as, even without Stokes, England have the talent to play plenty of good cricket.

Nevertheless, it is impossible to escape the conclusion that Australia are rightly favourites to regain the Ashes urn.  

Prediction: 4-1 to Australia

ENGLAND SQUAD

	Age		Tests	100	50	HS
Joe Root (c)	26	Yorkshire	60	13	32	254
Moeen Ali	30	Worcestershire	44	5	12	155*
James Anderson	35	Lancashire	129	0	1	81
Jonny Bairstow (wk)	28	Yorkshire	45	3	17	167*
Jake Ball	26	Nottinghamshire	3	0	0	31
Gary Ballance	27	Yorkshire	23	4	7	156
Stuart Broad	31	Nottinghamshire	109	1	11	169
Alastair Cook	32	Essex	147	31	55	294
Mason Crane	20	Hampshire	0	0	0	-
Tom Curran	22	Surrey	0	0	0	-
Ben Foakes (wk)	24	Surrey	0	0	0	-
Dawid Malan	30	Middlesex	5	0	2	65
Craig Overton	23	Somerset	0	0	0	-
Mark Stoneman	30	Surrey	3	0	1	52
James Vince	26	Hampshire	7	0	0	42
Chris Woakes	28	Warwickshire	18	0	3	66
Ben Stokes	26	Durham	39	6	12	258

HS high score   *not out

ASHES HISTORY
⚱️Overall series 69
Australia 32 England 32 Drawn 5
⚱️In Australia only 34
Australia 18 England 14 Drawn 2

⚱️Overall Tests 325
Australia 130 England 106 Drawn 89
⚱️In Australia only 162
Australia 82 England 56 Drawn 24

RECENT SERIES since 2000

	Hosts		Holder
2001	ENG	Australia won 4-1	Australia
2002-03	AUS	Australia won 4-1	Australia
2005	ENG	England won 2-1	England
2006-07	AUS	Australia won 5-0	Australia
2009	ENG	England won 2-1	England
2010-11	AUS	England won 3-1	England
2013	ENG	England won 3-0	England
2013-14	AUS	Australia won 5-0	Australia
2015	ENG	England won 3-2	England currently hold the Ashes

World Cup playoffs: Arrivederci Azzurri, Ireland and Northern Ireland

WORLD CUP 2018 PLAYOFFS

09-Nov-2017	Northern Ireland 0-1 Switzerland	Belfast
12-Nov-2017	Switzerland 0-0 Northern Ireland	Basel
	(Q) Switzerland won 1-0 on aggregate
09-Nov-2017	Croatia 4-1 Greece	Zagreb
12-Nov-2017	Greece 0-0 Croatia	Piraeus
	(Q) Croatia won 4-1 on aggregate
10-Nov-2017	Sweden 1-0 Italy	Solna
13-Nov-2017	Italy 0-0 Sweden	Milan
	(Q) Sweden won 1-0 on aggregate
11-Nov-2017	Denmark 0-0 Ireland	Copenhagen
14-Nov-2017	Ireland 1-5 Denmark	Dublin
	(Q) Denmark won 5-1 on aggregate
10-Nov-2017	Honduras 0-0 Australia	San Pedro Sula
15-Nov-2017	Australia 3-1 Honduras	Sydney
	(Q) Australia won 3-1 on aggregate
11-Nov-2017	New Zealand 0-0 Peru	Wellington
15-Nov-2017	Peru 2-0 New Zealand	Lima
	(Q) Peru won 2-0 on aggregate

ITALY failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958 - and only the second time ever - as both Northern Ireland and Ireland also missed out in the playoffs.

Amid a series of low scoring matches, which - at one stage - featured six successive 0-0 draws, the Italians went out 1-0 on aggregate to Sweden after a deflected Jakob Johansson goal in the first leg.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland can consider themselves even more unlucky having gone out to Switzerland by the same aggregate score as a result of a simply shocking first leg penalty call in Belfast.

Corry Evans was adjudged by Romanian referee Ovidiu Haţegan to have handled a shot from Stoke City winger Xherdan Shaqiri even though his back was turned and the ball hit his shoulder.

Ricardo Rodríguez showed no sympathy by dispatching the spot kick and then added insult to injury by clearing Jonny Evans' header off the line in the dying moments of the second leg in Basel.

Sympathy for the Azzurri and the Northern Irish must be tempered, though, by the fact that neither side managed to score against their opponents in just over three hours of football.

Yet only the most hardened football cynic felt no sadness at Gianluigi Buffon's fine international career ending like this.

Daniele de Rossi and Andrea Barzagli have also retired from national duty, the former having unsuccessfully implored 69-year-old head coach Gian Piero Ventura to bring on striker Lorenzo Insigne.

Unsurprisingly, Ventura has now been sacked by the Italian FA - and, having been a thoroughly uninspiring choice in the first place, the Azzurri's oldest-ever head coach holds a reputation which is the equivalent to that of Steve McClaren among England supporters.

By contrast, Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill is held in rather higher esteem having reinvigorated football in the province.

Under O'Neill, the Northern Irish have risen from 88th in the world rankings from when he took over in 2011 to a current position of 20th. Along the way, they also reached the last 16 of Euro 2016.

Of course, the 48-year-old's achievements have not gone unnoticed and it would be no surprise if he now looked for a different challenge. Managerless Scotland are said to be interested.

O'Neill's namesake on the south of the Irish border, Martin, also holds a contract for the Euro 2020 qualifiers - but he now faces a challenge of a different kind after a crushing playoff defeat.

The Irish appeared to be on course to qualify against Denmark having backed up their 0-0 draw in Copenhagen with an early goal in Dublin from Shane Duffy.

From that point onwards, though, it all went wrong as Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen took advantage of some slack defending to score a hat-trick in a 5-1 win.

An unfortunate own goal by Cyrus Christie began the rout before Eriksen hit a trio of wonderful strikes either side of half time.

Nicklas Bendtner then finished off a horrible night for Ireland by winning and scoring a 90th-minute penalty after he had been fouled by West Bromwich Albion winger James McClean.

Elsewhere, the playoff between Croatia and Greece was a straightforward affair.

The Croatians cruised through to make it an impressive 10 successful World Cup and European Championship qualifying campaigns out of 12, since the country gained independence in 1993.

Luka Modrić, Nikola Kalinić, Ivan Perišić, and Andrej Kramarić all found the net in a 4-1 win in Zagreb as a dreadful Greek defensive performance effectively ended the tie inside the first 90 minutes.

This was, nevertheless, a sharp improvement for Greece on their abysmal qualifying effort for Euro 2016 when they finished bottom of their group, and were beaten home and away by the Faroe Isles.

Outside of Europe, Australia took the penultimate World Cup finals spot yesterday after beating Honduras 3-1 in Sydney.

Captain Mile Jedinak scored a second half hat-trick - including two penalties - to settle a tie which had been, up until that point, a finely-balanced encounter following three goalless halves.

The Socceroos certainly appear to have benefited from their move in 2006 into the more competitive Asian confederation. Indeed, World Cup 2018 will be the Australians' fourth finals in a row.

Peru, by contrast, have qualified for the first time since 1982, taking the last place on offer with a 2-0 win over New Zealand in Lima.

Goals in each half - from Jefferson Farfan and Christian Ramos - were enough for the Peruvians to progress, the first leg in Wellington having finished in stalemate.

So, with the identity of all 32 qualified teams now known, it is worth looking at just how the finals draw could work out.

Hosts Russia and holders Germany are seeded along with Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Poland, and France in pot one (see below).

Then, unlike some previous World Cup editions which were split geographically, the remaining pots are also simply based on the teams' FIFA World Ranking from last month.

Ranked 12th in October, England are in pot two, and are joined by 2010 winners Spain, as well as Peru, Switzerland, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, and Croatia.

The Three Lions therefore will definitely face a seeded team in group phase - but will avoid all of those other sides in the second pot.

As in previous tournaments, two countries from the same confederation cannot be drawn against each other, with the exception of UEFA teams due to the number of participants from Europe.

Under the same principle, there also cannot be a group which has three or four UEFA teams in it.

Consequently, England could possibly face Brazil, Sweden and Nigeria in their group - or there could be an early reunion with Euro 2016 conquerors Iceland who are in pot three.

Alternatively, Gareth Southgate's men could be pitted against Poland, Tunisia and Panama, a selection which he would surely take in his first campaign as England boss.

Regardless, we will all find out soon enough. The finals draw will take place on Friday 1 December at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow.

The tournament itself will begin on 14 June 2018 with the Russians' opening group game.

(Q) WORLD CUP 2018 QUALIFIERS (Q)

Russia, Brazil, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Belgium, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Germany, England, Spain, Nigeria, Costa Rica, Poland, Egypt, Iceland, Serbia, France, Portugal, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia, Panama, Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, Switzerland, Croatia, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, Peru

POT ONE	WR	Date of (Q)	Method of (Q)		Best
(Q) RUSSIA	65	02-Dec-2010	Selected as hosts		SF*
(Q) GERMANY	1	05-Oct-2017	Winner of UEFA Group C		W
(Q) BRAZIL	2	28-Mar-2017	Winner of CONMEBOL		W
(Q) PORTUGAL	3	10-Oct-2017	Winner of UEFA Group B		SF
(Q) ARGENTINA	4	10-Oct-2017	Third place in CONMEBOL		W
(Q) BELGIUM	5	03-Sep-2017	Winner of UEFA Group H		SF
(Q) POLAND	6	08-Oct-2017	Winner of UEFA Group E		SF
(Q) FRANCE	7	10-Oct-2017	Winner of UEFA Group A		W
POT TWO	WR	Date of (Q)	Method of (Q)		Best
(Q) SPAIN	8	06-Oct-2017	Winner of UEFA Group G		W
(Q) PERU	10	15-Nov-2017	Playoff winner		QF
(Q) SWITZERLAND	11	12-Nov-2017	Playoff winner		QF
(Q) ENGLAND	12	05-Oct-2017	Winner of UEFA Group F		W
(Q) COLOMBIA	13	10-Oct-2017	Fourth place in CONMEBOL		QF
(Q) MEXICO	16	01-Sep-2017	Winner of CONCACAF		QF
(Q) URUGUAY	17	10-Oct-2017	Runner-up in CONMEBOL		W
(Q) CROATIA	18	12-Nov-2017	Playoff winner		SF
POT THREE	WR	Date of (Q)	Method of (Q)		Best
(Q) DENMARK	19	14-Nov-2017	Playoff winner		QF
(Q) ICELAND	21	09-Oct-2017	Winner of UEFA Group I		Debut
(Q) COSTA RICA	22	07-Oct-2017	Runner-up in CONCACAF		QF
(Q) SWEDEN	25	13-Nov-2017	Playoff winner		RU
(Q) TUNISIA	28	11-Nov-2017	Winner of CAF Group A		1R
(Q) EGYPT	30	08-Oct-2017	Winner of CAF Group E		1R
(Q) SENEGAL	32	10-Nov-2017	Winner of CAF Group D		QF
(Q) IRAN	34	12-Jun-2017	Winner of AFC Group A		1R
POT FOUR	WR	Date of (Q)	Method of (Q)		Best
(Q) SERBIA	38	09-Oct-2017	Winner of UEFA Group D		SF~
(Q) NIGERIA	41	07-Oct-2017	Winner of CAF Group B		2R
(Q) AUSTRALIA	43	15-Nov-2017	Playoff winner		2R
(Q) JAPAN	44	31-Aug-2017	Winner of AFC Group B		2R
(Q) MOROCCO	48	11-Nov-2017	Winner of CAF Group C		2R
(Q) PANAMA	49	10-Oct-2017	Third place in CONCACAF		Debut
(Q) SOUTH KOREA	62	05-Sep-2017	Runner-up in AFC Group A		SF
(Q) SAUDI ARABIA	63	05-Sep-2017	Runner-up in AFC Group B		2R

Key
WR Pots determined by FIFA World Ranking in October 2017
UEFA Europe CONMEBOL South America CONCACAF North America AFC Asia CAF Africa
W Winners RU Runner-up SF Semi finals QF Quarter finals 2R Round of 16 1R First round
* as Soviet Union  ~ as Yugoslavia

Lest we forget

🕚
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun...

And in the morning...

We will remember them

www.britishlegion.org.uk

1914-1918

High-rolling Hamilton completes his quadruple

FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONS Four times or more

7 Michael Schumacher (Ger)		1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
5 Juan Manuel Fangio (Arg)		1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957
4 Alain Prost (Fra)		1985, 1986, 1989, 1993
4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger)		2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
4 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr)		2008, 2014, 2015, 2017

LEWIS HAMILTON may have secured his latest world title in inauspicious circumstances on Sunday after being lapped and finishing down in ninth place in the Mexican Grand Prix.

But his achievement in having reached the summit of his sport - again - has sealed his place as a legend of Formula One.

Mercedes man Hamilton joins Alain Prost and contemporary rival Sebastian Vettel on four Drivers' Championships. Only Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio have more.

Yet, at certain stages of the season, it looked as if it might be Vettel joining Fangio on five, as Ferrari produced a far more impressive car than in recent years.

After the Monaco Grand Prix in late-May, Vettel enjoyed a healthy 25-point lead, the exact equivalent of a whole race win.

And, even after both drivers had endured an indifferent summer, the German still led Hamilton at the four-week break by 14 points.

The autumn, though, was an entirely different story as Vettel imploded and Hamilton ignited his challenge with five wins out of six.

In Singapore, Vettel qualified on the pole - but, at the start, he and team mate Kimi Räikkönen squeezed the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, causing the Dutchman to touch Räikkönen.

The collision sent the Finn out of control and he hit the left sidepod of his team mate Vettel's car, causing major damage to both.

None of the three drivers involved completed a lap, while Hamilton - who had qualified fifth - picked up a fortunate victory, a third win in a row.

Two weeks later in Malaysia, Ferrari again had the fastest car - but an engine problem in qualifying consigned Vettel to the back of the grid.

And, although the German recovered to fourth, Hamilton took a surprise second to extend his lead to 34 points.

Remarkably, in Japan, Vettel retired early again - on that occasion due to a spark plug failure - and the Mercedes man Hamilton took full advantage with another race victory.

The championship lead was up to 59 points - and, at the following race in the United States, Mercedes were crowned Constructors' champions for a fourth successive year.

That achievement should not be understated for it came despite a whole raft of technical changes at the start of the 2017 season.

Indeed, it would also be wrong to suggest Hamilton and Mercedes have solely relied on the misfortune of Vettel for their success.

As Andrew Benson, chief correspondent for the BBC website, explained: "Of [Hamilton's] nine wins, at least three were of the very highest calibre, and in very different ways.

"He fought back to catch and pass Vettel in Spain, held off a faster Ferrari in Belgium, and came through against the odds with pace his team did not know they had in wet-dry Singapore. Three others - in Britain, Italy and the United States - were utterly dominant."

Of course, Hamilton will never be universally popular. Off the track, he is a self-styled high-roller, seemingly hopping from one celebrity bash to the next. One week he is hanging with Mo Farah, the next week with Usain Bolt.

He scored a big own goal when he was the only one of the 20 Formula One drivers who refused to take part in an event in London in the run-up to the British Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, on the track, he has gained a reputation for pettiness, badly damaging his longstanding friendship with Nico Rosberg in last year's tussle for the title.

Even on Sunday, Hamilton immediately speculated Vettel had hit him on purpose at the third corner, though the racing incident had done no favours for the German either.

Vettel ultimately finished fourth, well short of the required second place - which was guarded in any case by Hamilton's loyal Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas.

Red Bull's Verstappen consequently earned a merited victory, his second of the season and the third of his fledgling career.

But - despite a self-proclaimed "horrible" race in Mexico City - the day belonged to Hamilton.

He already had more race victories (62) than any other British driver in Formula One history anyway - and he also has the most pole positions of any driver in history with 72.

Now, most significantly of all, he has more world titles than any other Briton, surpassing Sir Jackie Stewart's three.

And so, if it was not clear before this week then it certainly is now: this is Hammer time.

FORMULA ONE 2017 Race-by-race

Date			Hamilton	Vettel	Hamilton lead
26 March		Australian Grand Prix	2nd - 18	🏆1st - 25	🔽7
9 April		Chinese Grand Prix	🏆1st - 43	2nd - 43	🔼🔽Level
16 April		Bahrain Grand Prix	2nd - 61	🏆1st - 68	🔽7
30 April		Russian Grand Prix	4th - 73	2nd - 86	🔽13
14 May		Spanish Grand Prix	🏆1st - 98	2nd - 104	🔽6
28 May		Monaco Grand Prix	7th - 104	🏆1st - 129	🔽25
11 June		Canadian Grand Prix	🏆1st - 129	4th - 141	🔽12
25 June		Azerbaijan Grand Prix	5th - 139	4th - 153	🔽14
9 July		Austrian Grand Prix	4th - 151	2nd - 171	🔽20
16 July		British Grand Prix	🏆1st - 176	7th - 177	🔽1
30 July		Hungarian Grand Prix	4th - 188	🏆1st - 202	🔽14
27 August		Belgian Grand Prix	🏆1st - 213	2nd - 220	🔽7
3 September		Italian Grand Prix	🏆1st - 238	3rd - 235	🔼3
17 September		Singapore Grand Prix	🏆1st - 263	DNF - 235	🔼28
1 October		Malaysian Grand Prix	2nd - 281	4th - 247	🔼34
8 October		Japanese Grand Prix	🏆1st - 306	DNF - 247	🔼59
22 October		United States Grand Prix	🏆1st - 331	2nd - 265	🔼66
29 October		Mexican Grand Prix	9th - 333	4th - 277	🔼56
12 November		Brazilian Grand Prix	tbc	tbc	tbc
26 November		Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	tbc	tbc	tbc

STANDINGS
Drivers' Championship

P	Driver	Team	Points
01	Lewis Hamilton (Gbr)	Mercedes	333 (9 wins)
02	Sebastian Vettel (Ger)	Ferrari	277 (4 wins)
03	Valtteri Bottas (Fin)	Mercedes	262 (2 wins)
04	Daniel Ricciardo (Aus)	Red Bull-Renault	192 (1 win)
05	Kimi Räikkönen (Fin)	Ferrari	178
06	Max Verstappen (Ned)	Red Bull-Renault	148 (2 wins)
07	Sergio Pérez (Mex)	Force India-Mercedes	92
08	Esteban Ocon (Fra)	Force India-Mercedes	83
09	Carlos Sainz Jnr (Esp)	Renault	54
10	Lance Stroll (Can)	Williams-Mercedes	40
11	Felipe Massa (Brz)	Williams-Mercedes	36
12	Nico Hulkenburg (Ger)	Renault	34
13	Romain Grosjean (Fra)	Haas F1-Ferrari	28
14	Kevin Magnussen (Den)	Haas F1-Ferrari	19
15	Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel)	McLaren-Honda	13
16	Fernando Alonso (Esp)	McLaren-Honda	11
17	Jolyon Palmer (Gbr)	Renault	8
18	Pascal Wehrlein (Ger)	Sauber-Ferrari	5
19	Daniil Kvyat (Rus)	Toro Rosso	5

Constructors' Championship

P	Team	Points
01	Mercedes	595 (11 wins)
02	Ferrari	455 (4 wins)
03	Red Bull-Renault	340 (3 wins)
04	Force India-Mercedes	175
05	Williams-Mercedes	76
06	Toro Rosso	53
07	Renault	48
08	Haas F1-Ferrari	47
09	McLaren-Honda	24
10	Sauber-Ferrari	5

Underwhelming England reach World Cup in Russia

(Q) WORLD CUP 2018 QUALIFIERS (Q)

Russia, Brazil, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Belgium, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Germany, England, Spain, Nigeria, Costa Rica, Poland, Egypt, Iceland, Serbia, France, Portugal, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia, Panama

UNBEATEN but totally underwhelming. Gareth Southgate's England are one of the 23 nations which have now confirmed their place at the World Cup finals in Russia.

Nevertheless, expectations in the national team next summer remain at a low ebb following the latest pair of qualifiers against Slovenia at home and Lithuania away.

Both games finished 1-0 to the Three Lions with Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane as the only scorer.

And, as if to sum up the complete lack of excitement over the 180 minutes, Kane scrambled his goal against Slovenia in stoppage time - while his goal in Vilnius came from the penalty spot.

At least England have qualified - and without the need of a playoff.

Scotland looked set to finish runners-up in the same group as England - but blew their chance by closing their campaign with a 2-2 draw in Slovenia.

Head coach Gordon Strachan lamented an apparent genetic deficiency following this latest failure which made it 20 years and counting since the Scots qualified for a major tournament.

But the 60-year-old's reasoning about a lack of "height and strength" makes little sense considering the success of the likes of Spain in recent times.

Also, it does not take into account that Scotland actually played some decent stuff at times in this campaign. They paid dearly, though, for a terrible start in which they took only four points from the opening four games.

Strachan - who will meet Scottish Football Association chiefs tomorrow - must take responsibility for that, especially as players such as Leigh Griffiths, Stuart Armstrong and Matt Ritchie did not always start, even when fit.

Elsewhere among the home nations, Wales missed out, meaning their wait for a World Cup finals appearance will extend beyond 60 years.

Injured Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale could only look on as the Euro 2016 semi finalists fell to their first competitive defeat home in four years against Ireland on Monday.

It was not that match - but, rather, too many draws early on in the group which had left Wales playing catch up - and, in the end, even a draw would have eliminated Chris Coleman's men as the weakest runners-up.

Coleman has been quiet about his future for the moment - but there is a feeling that, after five years in the role, he may be looking for a different challenge.

Of course, for Ireland, Monday night's match in Cardiff was a totally different story as defensive fortitude and James McClean's superb volley ensured they joined Northern Ireland in the playoffs.

The Northern Irish had a fine campaign, winning an unprecedented five qualifiers in a row at one stage.

Indeed, prior to a final day defeat to Norway - when their place in the playoffs had already been assured by other results - Michael O'Neill's men had only lost to world champions Germany.

And, certainly, none of the four seeds - Switzerland, Italy, Croatia or Denmark - will fancy a trip to Belfast - or to Dublin, for that matter.

In the rest of Europe, most of the usual powerhouses made it to the finals without too much sweat - but the Netherlands missed out for a second successive major tournament, finishing behind Sweden and group winners France.

European champions Portugal only just made it through on the final day, beating the slightly unlucky Swiss on goal difference, despite Switzerland having won their nine other games.

But the big story in Europe for football romantics was Iceland - again. Yes, the Icelanders' Euro 2016 jaunt meant that no one could be totally shocked by their success, least of all the English.

Nevertheless, by beating Kosovo last night, Iceland became by far the smallest country by population to reach a World Cup finals ever.

Overnight, in the Americas, the story appeared to be in Quito where Argentina, facing Ecuador away in high altitude, looked as if they might miss out on a first finals appearance since 1970.

It looked even worse for La Albiceleste when Romario Ibarra gave the Ecuadorians a lead inside 38 seconds.

As if a script had been written, though, Barcelona forward Lionel Messi saved the day with his first ever hat-trick in a World Cup qualifier.

Argentina thus qualified behind the only World Cup ever-presents Brazil - who had made it back in March - and Uruguay who rubber-stamped their place with a win last night against Bolivia.

Colombia and Peru played out a 1-1 draw in Lima, a result which sends the Colombians to a second successive World Cup and the Peruvians into a playoff against Oceania champions New Zealand.

Surprise package Peru - looking to make a first World Cup finals since 1982 - will nonetheless go into next month's tie as favourites against the All Whites.

But their presence in the playoff means that there is no room at the World Cup for Paraguay, beaten at home to Venezuela, or two-time South American champions Chile.

The biggest surprise, though, actually came in the North and Central America region.

United States had not missed a World Cup since 1986 but a woeful defeat away to Trinidad & Tobago opened the door - and Panama walked right on through.

A national holiday has been declared in the small Central American nation, most famous for its canal which connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

Now, Seattle Sounders defender Roman Torres has written his name in Panamanian folklore by scoring a late winner against already-qualified group runners-up Costa Rica.

For good measure, Honduras beat group winners Mexico 3-2 at home to take fourth place and a playoff - and leave the Americans stranded and out of the running in fifth.

The Hondurans will face Australia in their two-legged playoff next month after the Socceroos ended Syria's remarkable World Cup journey.

A 1-1 draw in neutral Malaysia looked as if it was going to be followed yesterday by another 1-1 draw between the sides in Sydney as the match went into extra time.

But up popped the ever-green former Everton man Tim Cahill to fire the Aussies ahead and give them a chance of joining the automatic qualifiers from the Asian region - group winners Iran and Japan, and runners-up South Korea and Saudi Arabia.

There are still issues to be decided in Africa with only two of the five places taken at present - by Nigeria and Egypt, the latter making their first finals appearance since 1990.

In the other groups, Tunisia will qualify with just a point next month against Libya, Morocco travel to Ivory Coast in a winner-takes-all contest, while Senegal need just one win from their two games against South Africa.

Only nine World Cup finals places are yet to be decided - four will come from the winners of the European playoffs, three from Africa, and two from the inter-continental playoffs.

The finals draw will take place at the Kremlin in Moscow on Friday 1 December.

UEFA (Europe) 
(Q) Russia, Belgium, Germany, England, Spain, Poland, Iceland, Serbia, France, Portugal
(P) Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Croatia; Sweden, Northern Ireland, Greece, Ireland

Group A	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) FRANCE	7	2	1	18	6	23
(P) Sweden	6	1	3	26	9	19
Netherlands	6	1	3	21	12	19
Bulgaria	4	1	5	14	19	13
Luxembourg	1	3	6	8	26	6
Belarus	1	2	7	6	21	5

Group B	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) PORTUGAL	9	0	1	32	4	27
(P) Switzerland	9	0	1	23	7	27
Hungary	4	1	5	14	14	13
Faroe Islands	2	3	5	4	16	9
Latvia	2	1	7	7	18	7
Andorra	1	1	8	2	23	4

Group C	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) GERMANY	10	0	0	43	4	30
(P) Northern Ireland	6	1	3	17	6	19
Czech Republic	4	3	3	17	10	15
Norway	4	1	5	17	16	13
Azerbaijan	3	1	6	10	19	10
San Marino	0	0	10	2	51	0

Group D	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) SERBIA	6	3	1	20	10	21
(P) Ireland	5	4	1	12	6	19
Wales	4	5	1	13	6	17
Austria	4	3	3	14	12	15
Georgia	0	5	5	8	14	5
Moldova	0	2	8	4	23	2

Group E	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) POLAND	8	1	1	28	14	25
(P) Denmark	6	2	2	20	8	20
Montenegro	5	1	4	20	12	16
Romania	3	4	3	12	10	13
Armenia	2	1	7	10	26	7
Kazakhstan	0	3	7	6	26	3

Group F	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) ENGLAND	8	2	0	18	3	26
Slovakia	6	0	4	17	7	18
Scotland	5	3	2	17	12	18
Slovenia	4	3	3	12	7	15
Lithuania	1	3	6	7	20	6
Malta	0	1	9	3	25	1

Group G	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) SPAIN	9	1	0	36	3	28
(P) Italy	7	2	1	21	8	23
Albania	4	1	5	10	13	13
Israel	4	0	6	10	15	12
Macedonia	3	2	5	15	15	11
Liechtenstein	0	0	10	1	39	0

Group H	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) BELGIUM	9	1	0	43	6	28
(P) Greece	5	4	1	17	6	19
Bosnia-Herzegovina	5	2	3	24	13	17
Estonia	3	2	5	13	19	11
Cyprus	3	1	6	9	18	10
Gibraltar	0	0	10	3	47	0

Group I	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) ICELAND	7	1	2	16	7	22
(P) Croatia	6	2	2	15	4	20
Ukraine	5	2	3	13	9	17
Turkey	4	3	3	14	13	15
Finland	2	3	5	9	13	9
Kosovo	0	1	9	3	24	1

CONMEBOL (South America)
(Q) Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia
(P) Peru v New Zealand in an inter-continental playoff

	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) BRAZIL	12	5	1	41	11	41
(Q) URUGUAY	9	4	5	32	20	31
(Q) ARGENTINA	7	7	4	19	16	28
(Q) COLOMBIA	7	6	5	21	19	27
(P) Peru	7	5	6	27	26	26
Chile	8	2	8	26	27	26
Paraguay	7	3	8	19	25	24
Ecuador	6	2	10	26	29	20
Bolivia	4	2	12	16	38	14
Venezuela	2	6	10	19	35	12

CONCACAF (North and Central America)
(Q) Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama
(P) Honduras v Australia in an inter-continental playoff

	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) MEXICO	6	3	1	16	7	21
(Q) COSTA RICA	4	4	2	14	8	16
(Q) PANAMA	3	4	3	9	10	13
(P) Honduras	3	4	3	13	19	13
United States	3	3	4	17	13	12
Trinidad & Tobago	2	0	8	7	19	6

CAF (Africa)
(Q) Nigeria, Egypt

Group A	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Tunisia	4	1	0	11	4	13
DR Congo	3	1	1	11	6	10
Guinea	1	0	4	5	11	3
Libya	1	0	4	4	10	3

Group B	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) NIGERIA	4	1	0	11	3	13
Zambia	2	1	2	6	5	7
Cameroon	1	3	1	5	7	6
Algeria	0	1	4	3	10	1

Group C	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Morocco	2	3	0	9	0	9
Ivory Coast	2	2	1	7	3	8
Gabon	1	2	2	2	7	5
Mali	0	3	2	1	9	3

Group D	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Senegal	2	2	0	6	2	8
Burkina Faso	1	3	1	6	6	6
Cape Verde	2	0	3	4	8	6
South Africa	1	1	2	6	6	4

Group E	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) EGYPT	4	0	1	7	3	12
Uganda	2	2	1	2	1	8
Ghana	1	3	1	6	4	6
Congo	0	1	4	4	11	1

AFC (Asia)
(Q) Iran, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia

Group A	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) IRAN	6	4	0	10	2	22
(Q) SOUTH KOREA	4	3	3	11	10	15
(P) Syria	3	4	3	9	8	13
Uzbekistan	4	1	5	6	7	13
China	3	3	4	8	10	12
Qatar	2	1	7	8	15	7

Group B	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
(Q) JAPAN	6	2	2	17	7	20
(Q) SAUDI ARABIA	6	1	3	16	10	19
(P) Australia	5	4	1	16	11	19
United Arab Emirates	4	1	5	10	13	13
Iraq	3	2	5	11	12	11
Thailand	0	2	8	6	24	2

(P) Playoff
Syria 1-1 Australia (played in Malaysia)
Australia 2-1 Syria aet
▪️ Australia won 3-2 on aggregate and will play Honduras in an inter-continental playoff