ST. PETERSBURG: Qualifying draw on Saturday for the 2018 World Cup, to be played in Russia from June 14-July 15:
EUROPE
13 nations qualify, Russia also qualifies as host
Sept. 4, 2016, to Oct. 10, 2017
Group winners qualify
Top eight second-place teams advance to playoffs
Group A- Belarus, Bulgaria, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden
Group B- Andorra, Faeroe Islands, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal, Switzerland
Group C- Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Germany, Northern Ireland, Norway, San Marino
Group D- Austria, Georgia, Ireland, Moldova, Serbia, Wales
Group E- Armenia, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Montenegro, Romania
Group F- England, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia
Group G- Albania, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Spain
Group H- Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece
Group I- Croatia, Finland, Iceland, Turkey, Ukraine
Playoffs
Nov. 9-14, 2017
Winners qualify
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SOUTH AMERICA
4 or 5 nations qualify
Sept. 4, 2016, to Oct. 10, 2017
One group of 10 nations
Double round robin
Top four teams qualify
Fifth-place team advances to playoff vs. Oceania
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
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NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA
AND CARIBBEAN
3 or 4 nations qualify
Third round
Aug. 31 to Sept. 8, 2015
Winners advance
Antigua and Barbuda vs. Guatemala
Canada vs. Belize
Curacao vs. El Salvador
Grenada vs. Haiti
Jamaica vs. Nicaragua
St. Vincent and the Grenadines vs. Aruba
Fourth round
Nov. 7, 2015, to Sept. 6, 2016
Double round robin
Top two teams in each group advance
Group A_Canada-Belize winner, Curacao-El Salvador winner, Honduras, Mexico
Group B_Costa Rica, Grenada-Haiti winner, Jamaica-Nicaragua winner, Panama
Group C_Antigua and Barbuda-Guatemala winner, St. Vincent and the Grenadines-Aruba winner, Trinidad and Tobago, United States
Fifth round (Hexagonal)
Nov. 7, 2016, to Oct. 10, 2017
Double round robin
Top three teams qualify
Fourth-place team advances to playoff vs. Asia
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ASIA
4 or 5 nations qualify
Second round
June 11, 2015, to March 29, 2016
Double round robin (drawn April 14)
Group winners and top four second-place teams advance
Group A_East Timor, Malaysia, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
Group B_Australia, Bangladesh, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
Group C_Bhutan, China, Hong Kong, Maldives, Qatar
Group D_Guam, India, Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan
Group E_Afghanistan, Cambodia, Japan, Singapore, Syria
Group F_Iraq, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam (Indonesia disqualified)
Group G_Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Myanmar, South Korea
Group H_Bahrain, North Korea, Philippines, Uzbekistan, Yemen
Third round
Aug. 29, 2016, to Sept. 5, 2017
Two groups of six
Double round robin
Top two teams in each group qualify
Third-place teams advance to playoff
Fourth round
Oct. 2-10, 2017
Winner advances to playoff vs. CONCACAF
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AFRICA
5 nations qualify
First round
Oct. 5-13, 2015
Winners advance
Central African Republic vs. Madagascar
Chad vs. Sierra Leone
Comoros vs. Lesotho
Djibouti vs. Swaziland
Eritrea vs. Botswana
Gambia vs. Namibia
Liberia vs. Guinea-Bissau
Mauritius vs. Kenya
Sao Tome e Principe vs. Ethiopia
Seychelles vs. Burundi
Somalia vs. Niger
South Sudan vs. Mauritania
Tanzania vs. Malawi
Second round
Nov. 9-17, 2015
Winners advance
Angola vs. South Africa
Benin vs. Burkina Faso
Central African Republic-Madagascar winner vs. Senegal
Chad-Sierra Leone winner vs. Egypt
Comoros-Lesotho winner vs. Ghana
Djibouti-Swaziland winner vs. NigeriaEritrea vs. Botswana winner vs. Mali
Gambia-Namibia winner vs. Guinea
Liberia-Guinea-Bissau winner vs. Ivory Coast
Libya vs. Rwanda
Mauritius-Kenya winner vs. Cape Verde Islands
Morocco vs. Equatorial Guinea
Mozambique vs. Gabon
Sao Tome e Principe-Ethiopia winner vs. Republic of Congo
Seychelles-Burundi winner vs. Congo
Somalia-Niger winner vs. Cameroon
South Sudan-Mauritania winner vs. Tunisia
Sudan vs. Zambia
Tanzania-Malawi winner vs. Algeria
Togo vs. Uganda
Third round
Oct. 3, 2016, to Nov. 14, 2017
Five groups of four
Double round robin
Group winners qualify
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OECNIA
(0 or 1 nations qualify)
First round
Aug. 31 to Sept. 4, 2015
Round robin
Group winner advances
American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga
Second round
May 28 to June 12, 2015
Two groups of four
Top three teams in each group advance
Group A_New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, Round One winner
Group B_Fiji, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu
Third round
March 20 to Oct. 10, 2017
Two groups of three
Group winners meet home and away
Series winner advances to playoff vs. South America
