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
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