Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Croatia win play-offs
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Article summary
Denmark overwhelmed Ireland to claim Europe's last FIFA World Cup berth after Sweden ousted Italy to follow Switzerland and Croatia through.
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The European Qualifiers play-offs for the 2018 FIFA World Cup have ended: here is your full guide to what happened.
When were the games?
Second legs
Switzerland 0-0 Northern Ireland (agg: 1-0)
Greece 0-0 Croatia (agg: 1-4)
Italy 0-0 Sweden (agg: 0-1)
Republic of Ireland 1-5 Denmark (agg: 1-5)
First leg results
Northern Ireland 0-1 Switzerland
Croatia 4-1 Greece
Sweden 1-0 Italy
Denmark 0-0 Republic of Ireland
Did away goals count double?
In a word, yes. If the scores are level over the two matches, away goals will count double. If the teams still cannot be separated, extra time is required; should both teams score the same number of goals during the course of the additional 30 minutes, the away team will go through. If the score is still level, penalties are required.
How did the teams reach the play-offs?
They were the eight group runners-up with the best records against the sides first, third, fourth and fifth in their groups (Slovakia were the ninth team that missed out).
Who has qualified?
From UEFA, the nine qualifying group winners booked their places alongside hosts Russia and play-off winners Switzerland, Croatia, Sweden and Denmark.
UEFA qualifiers: Belgium, Croatia*, Denmark*, England, France, Germany (holders), Iceland, Poland, Portugal, Russia (hosts), Serbia, Spain, Sweden*, Switzerland*
*Via play-offs
Non-UEFA qualifiers: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Korea, Tunisia, Uruguay
Intercontinental play-offs: Australia v Honduras (agg: 3-1), Peru v New Zealand (agg: 2-0)
What happens once the play-offs are done?
Here are the dates you need ...
Finals draw (State Kremlin Palace, Moscow): 1 December – the four seeding pots will be set by the October 2017 FIFA World Ranking, with hosts Russia taking position 1 in Group A and holders Germany, European champions Portugal, Belgium, Poland, France and Spain among those in Pot 1. No more than two teams from UEFA, or one from any of the other single confederations, can be in a single group.
Finals (Russia): 14 June to 15 July – more information can be found on FIFA's official website.
