Which teams have already qualified for the 2018 World Cup?
- Charlie Smith
- @CharlieSmith118
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World Cup qualifying processes around the globe are starting to come to an end as more and more sides book their places at the 2018 tournament in Russia.
We’ve taken a look at the sides who we know for a fact will be competing in the tournament:
Russia
With Russia hosting the 2018 World Cup, they automatically qualified for the competition without kicking a ball. Captain and goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev is the most capped player in the current Russian squad, and will be looking to lead his nation to success in their home tournament.
Brazil
The five time World Cup winners breezed through their qualification campaign and will be hoping to win a sixth title in Russia.
Iran
Iran, ranked 25th in the world, became the first Asian nation to reach the finals in Russia as they booked their spot in June. Iran remained unbeaten in all qualifying matches, conceding only five goals in their 18 qualifiers.
Japan
2002 hosts Japan reached the World Cup after their dramatic 2-0 win against Australia at the end of August sealed their progression.
Mexico
Mexico are ranked 14th in the world and have appeared 15 times at the competition before. They will make that 16 next summer after their unbeaten qualification campaign.
Belgium
Belgium booked their place at the World Cup in Russia after a 2-1 win in Greece ensured they were guaranteed top spot. the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard, Belgium will surely be challenging for World Cup glory next summer.
South Korea
South Korea qualified as runners up behind Iran in their group. This will be Korea’s tenth World Cup appearance, becoming the only side outside of Europe and South America to be ever-present at the competition since 1986.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia reached their first World Cup since Germany 2006 after finishing above Australia on goal difference after their ten qualifying fixtures.
Germany
The reigning World Cup winners reached their 19th World Cup by brezzing though their group. Can they win back to back titles?
England
England booked their place in Russia by beating Slovenia in injury time thanks to captain Harry Kane. Despite being uneaten in qualifying, questions have been asked over the potential of the current England squad, with Gareth Southgate looking to replicate the success from 1966.
Spain
A 3-0 win over Albania secured Spain’s place as Group G winners, ahead of Italy. The 2010 winners will be hoping to take home the trophy for a second time.
Nigeria
A goal from Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi earned Nigeria a 1-0 victory over Zambia and a place in the World Cup, making them the first African side to qualify for the tournament.
Costa Rica
A dramatic equaliser from Kendall Waston in injury time saw Costa Rica draw with Honduras to secure their place in Russia. After surprisingly getting to the quarter finals in 2014, they’ll be hoping for another successful tournament.
Poland
Poland topped Group E ahead of Denmark, Montenegro and Romania to book their place at the finals.
Egypt
A 95th minute penalty from Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah earned Egypt a 2-1 win over Congo, which means they secured qualification with a game to spare.
Iceland
After their heroics at Euro 2016, Iceland have now qualified for the World Cup, winning Group I ahead of Croatia and Ukraine. They will be the smallest country in terms of population – 334,000 – to play in the World Cup.
Serbia
Serbia’s win over Georgia guarenteed them top spot in Group D, ahead of Ireland and Wales.
France
France defeated Belarus on Tuesday night, seeing them qualify for the World Cup having topped Group A.
Portugal
Reigning European champions Portugal secured their place in Russia with a win over Switzerland on Friday, seeing them finish at the top of Group B.
Uruguay
After a 4-2 victory against Bolivia to complete their qualifying campaign, Uruguay sealed their place in the World Cup with a second place finish in the group.
Argentina
Argentina scraped through to Russia 2018 after a 3-1 win over Ecuador to round off their qualifying campaign. They finished third in the CONMEBOL group with 28 points.
Colombia
Colombia take the fourth qualifying spot in South America after a 1-1 draw with Peru put an end to their campaign.
Panama
Panama ended their Russia 2018 qualification in third place with 13 points from a possible 30. They automatically qualify along with the previously mentioned Mexico and Costa Rica.
Senegal
Senegal’s recent victory over South Afirca was enough to see them top thier qualifying group and qualify for Russia 2018.
Morocco
Morocco didn’t lose a game in their final qualification group and secured their place at the World Cup by defeating the Ivory Coast 2-0 away from home.
Tunisia
Tunisia also went through their final qualification group unbeaten. A 0-0 draw with Libya was enough to see them secure first place ahead of the DR Congo
Switzerland
Switzerland qualified for the World Cup with a 1-0 aggregate playoff win over Northern Ireland. Their victory came with a lot of controversy, however, with a terrible refereeing decision giving them the penalty which won the tie.
Croatia
Croatia, after finishing second in their group, defeated Greece 4-1 on aggregate in the playoff to qualify for the World Cup.
Sweden
Nobody gave Sweden a chance of qualifying when they were drawn in a playoff with Italy but a 1-0 aggregate win saw them qualify and the Italians miss out for the first time since 1958.