2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group H

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2018 World Cup Qualifiers UEFA Group H.png

The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group H was one of the nine UEFA groups for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. The group consisted of six teams: Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Estonia, Cyprus, and Gibraltar.

Contents

The draw for the first round (group stage) was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia. [1] [2] Gibraltar was added to the group after the draw, after becoming FIFA members together with Kosovo in May 2016, [3] and UEFA decided not to put Kosovo in same group as Bosnia and Herzegovina for security reasons. [4] [5]

The group winners, Belgium, qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The group runners-up, Greece, advanced to the play-offs as one of the best eight runners-up.

Russia was initially partnered with the five-team Group H, which enabled the 2018 World Cup hosts to play centralised friendlies against these countries on their "spare" match dates. [6] These friendlies would not have counted in the qualifying group standings. However, after the group was later expanded to include Gibraltar, these friendly matches were cancelled.

Standings

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7): [7]
  1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
  2. Overall goal difference
  3. Overall goals scored
  4. Points in matches between tied teams
  5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
  6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
  7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie was only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
  8. Fair play points
    • first yellow card: minus 1 point
    • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
    • direct red card: minus 4 points
    • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
  9. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Belgium (civil).svgFlag of Greece.svgFlag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svgFlag of Estonia.svgFlag of Cyprus.svgFlag of Gibraltar.svg
1Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 10910436+3728Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 1–1 4–0 8–1 4–0 9–0
2Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 10541176+1119Advance to second round 1–2 — 1–1 0–0 2–0 4–0
3Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina 105232413+1117 3–4 0–0 — 5–0 2–0 5–0
4Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 103251319−611 0–2 0–2 1–2 — 1–0 4–0
5Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus 10316918−910 0–3 1–2 3–2 0–0 — 3–1
6Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar 100010347−440 0–6 1–4 0–4 0–6 1–2 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Matches

The fixture list prior to the inclusion of Gibraltar was confirmed by UEFA on 26 July 2015, the day following the draw. [1] [8] Times are CET/CEST, [note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times are in parentheses). [9]

Bosnia and Herzegovina  Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg5–0Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica
Attendance: 8,820
Referee: Miroslav Zelinka (Czech Republic)
Cyprus  Flag of Cyprus.svg0–3Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
GSP Stadium, Nicosia
Attendance: 12,029
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)
Gibraltar  Flag of Gibraltar.svg1–4Flag of Greece.svg  Greece
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé (Portugal) [note 2]
Attendance: 460
Referee: Jakob Kehlet (Denmark)
Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg4–0Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
Attendance: 42,653
Referee: Martin Atkinson (England)
Estonia  Flag of Estonia.svg4–0Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn
Attendance: 4,678
Referee: Aleksei Eskov (Russia)
Greece  Flag of Greece.svg2–0Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus
Attendance: 16,512
Referee: Pavel Královec (Czech Republic)
Bosnia and Herzegovina  Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg2–0Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica
Attendance: 8,900
Referee: Xavier Estrada Fernández (Spain)
Estonia  Flag of Estonia.svg0–2Flag of Greece.svg  Greece
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn
Attendance: 4,467
Referee: István Vad (Hungary)
Gibraltar  Flag of Gibraltar.svg0–6Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé (Portugal) [note 2]
Attendance: 1,959
Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (Poland)
Cyprus  Flag of Cyprus.svg3–1Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
GSP Stadium, Nicosia
Attendance: 3,151
Referee: Aliyar Aghayev (Azerbaijan)
Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg8–1Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
Attendance: 37,128
Referee: Alexandru Tudor (Romania)
Greece  Flag of Greece.svg1–1Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus
Attendance: 20,075
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)
Bosnia and Herzegovina  Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg5–0Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica
Attendance: 8,285
Referee: Svein-Erik Edvartsen (Norway)
Cyprus  Flag of Cyprus.svg0–0Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
GSP Stadium, Nicosia
Attendance: 3,864
Referee: Ville Nevalainen (Finland)
Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg1–1Flag of Greece.svg  Greece
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
Attendance: 42,281
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
Bosnia and Herzegovina  Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg0–0Flag of Greece.svg  Greece
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica
Attendance: 11,000
Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)
Estonia  Flag of Estonia.svg0–2Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn
Attendance: 10,176
Referee: John Beaton (Scotland)
Gibraltar  Flag of Gibraltar.svg1–2Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé (Portugal) [note 2]
Attendance: 488
Referee: Nikola Popov (Bulgaria)
Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg9–0Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège
Attendance: 24,050
Referee: Neil Doyle (Republic of Ireland)
Cyprus  Flag of Cyprus.svg3–2Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
GSP Stadium, Nicosia
Attendance: 4,143
Referee: Andre Marriner (England)
Greece  Flag of Greece.svg0–0Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus
Attendance: 12,379
Referee: Liran Liany (Israel)
Estonia  Flag of Estonia.svg1–0Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn
Attendance: 5,491
Referee: Adrien Jaccottet (Switzerland)
Greece  Flag of Greece.svg1–2Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus
Attendance: 29,465
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)
Gibraltar  Flag of Gibraltar.svg0–4Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé (Portugal) [note 2]
Attendance: 805
Referee: Þorvaldur Árnason (Iceland)
Gibraltar  Flag of Gibraltar.svg0–6Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé (Portugal) [note 2]
Attendance: 750
Referee: Fran Jović (Croatia)
Bosnia and Herzegovina  Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg3–4Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Stadion Grbavica, Sarajevo [note 3]
Attendance: 9,657
Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)
Cyprus  Flag of Cyprus.svg1–2Flag of Greece.svg  Greece
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
GSP Stadium, Nicosia
Attendance: 7,222
Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain)
Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg4–0Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
Attendance: 37,765
Referee: Luca Banti (Italy)
Estonia  Flag of Estonia.svg1–2Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Lilleküla Stadium, Tallinn
Attendance: 4,967
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (Russia)
Greece  Flag of Greece.svg4–0Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA) [ dead link ]
Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus
Attendance: 12,739
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia)

Goalscorers

There were 109 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 3.63 goals per match.

11 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Discipline

A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences: [11]

The following suspensions were served during the qualifying matches:

PlayerTeamOffence(s)Suspended for match(es)
Marouane Fellaini Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Yellow card.svg vs Cyprus (6 September 2016)
Yellow card.svg vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (7 October 2016)		vs Gibraltar (10 October 2016)
Edin Džeko Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina Yellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svg vs Greece (13 November 2016)vs Gibraltar (25 March 2017)
Mato Jajalo Yellow card.svg vs Belgium (7 October 2016)
Yellow card.svg vs Greece (13 November 2016)
Senad Lulić
Ognjen Vranješ Yellow card.svg vs Estonia (6 September 2016)
Yellow card.svg vs Greece (13 November 2016)
Jason Demetriou Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus Yellow card.svg vs Greece (7 October 2016)
Yellow card.svg vs Gibraltar (13 November 2016)		vs Estonia (25 March 2017)
Pieros Sotiriou Yellow card.svg vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (10 October 2016)
Yellow card.svg vs Gibraltar (13 November 2016)
Jayce Olivero Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar Yellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svg vs Cyprus (13 November 2016)vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (25 March 2017)
Kyriakos Papadopoulos Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Red card.svg vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (13 November 2016)vs Belgium (25 March 2017)
vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (9 June 2017)
Sead Kolašinac Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina Yellow card.svg vs Belgium (7 October 2016)
Yellow card.svg vs Gibraltar (25 March 2017)		vs Greece (9 June 2017)
Vincent Laban Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus Yellow card.svg vs Belgium (6 September 2016)
Yellow card.svg vs Estonia (25 March 2017)		vs Gibraltar (9 June 2017)
Andreas Samaris Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Yellow card.svg vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (13 November 2016)
Yellow card.svg vs Belgium (25 March 2017)		vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (9 June 2017)
Panagiotis Tachtsidis Yellow card.svg Yellow-red card.svg vs Belgium (25 March 2017)
Georgios Tzavellas
Konstantinos Laifis Flag of Cyprus.svg  Cyprus Yellow card.svg vs Belgium (6 September 2016)
Yellow card.svg vs Gibraltar (9 June 2017)		vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (31 August 2017)
Artjom Dmitrijev Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia Red card.svg vs Belgium (9 June 2017)vs Greece (31 August 2017)
Karol Mets Yellow card.svg vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (6 September 2016)
Yellow card.svg vs Belgium (9 June 2017)
Sokratis Papastathopoulos Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Yellow card.svg vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (13 November 2016)
Yellow card.svg vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (9 June 2017)		vs Estonia (31 August 2017)
Axel Witsel Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Red card.svg vs Gibraltar (31 August 2017)vs Greece (3 September 2017)
Miralem Pjanić Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina Yellow card.svg vs Greece (13 November 2016)
Yellow card.svg vs Cyprus (31 August 2017)		vs Gibraltar (3 September 2017)
Ragnar Klavan Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia Yellow card.svg vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (6 September 2016)
Yellow card.svg vs Greece (31 August 2017)		vs Cyprus (3 September 2017)
Erin Barnett Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar Red card.svg vs Belgium (31 August 2017)vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (3 September 2017)
Ervin Zukanović Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina Yellow card.svg vs Greece (9 June 2017)
Yellow card.svg vs Gibraltar (3 September 2017)		vs Belgium (7 October 2017)
Yannick Carrasco Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium Yellow card.svg vs Greece (3 September 2017)
Yellow card.svg vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (7 October 2017)		vs Cyprus (10 October 2017)
Anastasios Donis Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Yellow card.svg vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (9 June 2017)
Yellow card.svg vs Cyprus (7 October 2017)		vs Gibraltar (10 October 2017)
Kostas Manolas
Andreas SamarisYellow card.svg vs Belgium (3 September 2017)
Yellow card.svg vs Cyprus (7 October 2017)

Notes

  1. ↑ CET (UTC+1) for matches on 13 November 2016 and 25 March 2017, and CEST (UTC+2) for all other matches.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Gibraltar play their home matches at Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé in Portugal instead of their regular stadium, Victoria Stadium, in Gibraltar.
  3. ↑ Bosnia and Herzegovina were sanctioned by FIFA to play one home match (against Belgium on 7 October 2017) away from Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica due to a series of incidents during their home match against Greece. [10]

References

  1. 1 2 "FIFA World Cup qualifying draw format". UEFA. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2016.
  2. ↑ "European teams learn World Cup qualifying fate". UEFA. 25 July 2015. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "FIFA Congress drives football forward, first female secretary general appointed". FIFA.com. 13 May 2016. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Kosovo to play in Group I in European Qualifiers". uefa.org. Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). 9 June 2016. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016.
  5. ↑ "Kosovo and Gibraltar assigned to 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying groups". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). 9 June 2016. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "Fixture List – Centralised friendlies" (PDF). UEFA. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016.
  8. ↑ "World Cup European Qualifiers fixtures confirmed". UEFA. 26 July 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "Fixture List – 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition" (PDF). UEFA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Disciplinary Overview - 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Qualifiers (July 2017)" (PDF). FIFA.com. 27 July 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2017.
  11. ↑ "Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2014-16" (PDF). UEFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2013.
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