AFC The AFC Executive Committee meeting on 16 April 2014 approved the proposal to merge the preliminary qualification rounds of the FIFA World Cup and the
AFC Asian Cup, which was expanded to 24 teams starting in
2019: •
First round: 12 teams (ranked 35–46) played home-and-away over
two legs. The six winners advanced to the second round. •
Second round: 40 teams (teams ranked 1–34 and six first round winners) were divided into eight groups of five teams to play home-and-away
round-robin matches. The eight group winners and the four best group runners-up advanced to the third round of FIFA World Cup qualification as well as qualified for the
2019 AFC Asian Cup finals. •
Third round: 12 teams (an increase from 10 for
2014) which had advanced from the second round were divided into two groups of six teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group qualified for the
2018 FIFA World Cup, and the two third-placed teams advanced to the fourth round. •
Fourth round: Two third-placed teams of each third round group played home-and-away over two legs. The winners advanced to the
inter-confederation play-offs.
Final positions (third round) The draw for the third round was held on 12 April 2016 at the
Mandarin Oriental Hotel in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Fourth round The third-placed teams from each group in the third round played against each other home-and-away over two legs to determine which team advanced to the
inter-confederation play-offs.
CAF The CAF Executive Committee approved the format for the qualifiers of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on 14 January 2015. However, on 9 July 2015 FIFA officially announced that only three rounds would be played instead of four. •
First round: 26 teams (ranked 28–53) played home-and-away over
two legs. The 13 winners advanced to the
second round. •
Second round: 40 teams (teams ranked 1–27 and 13 first round winners) played home-and-away over
two legs. The 20 winners advanced to the
third round. •
Third round: 20 teams which had advanced from the second round were divided into five groups of four teams to play home-and-away
round-robin matches. The winners of each group qualified for the
2018 FIFA World Cup.
Zimbabwe, even though they entered the competition, were expelled on 12 March 2015 for their failure to pay former coach
José Claudinei a severance fee.
CONCACAF An amendment to the qualification process for this tournament had been suggested, which would see the first three rounds played as knockout rounds, with both the fourth round and the final round (referred to as '
The Hex') played as group stages. The first round would be played during the FIFA international dates of 23–31 March 2015. CONCACAF announced the full details on 12 January 2015: •
First round: 14 teams (teams ranked 22–35) played home-and-away over
two legs. The seven winners advanced to the second round. •
Second round: 20 teams (teams ranked 9–21 and seven first round winners) played home-and-away over two legs. The ten winners advanced to the third round. •
Third round: 12 teams (teams ranked 7–8 and ten second round winners) played home-and-away over two legs. The six winners advanced to the fourth round. •
Fourth round: 12 teams (teams ranked 1–6 and six third round winners) were divided into three groups of four teams to play home-and-away
round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group advanced to the fifth round. •
Fifth round: Six teams which had advanced from the fourth round played home-and-away round-robin matches in one single group. The top three teams qualified for the
2018 FIFA World Cup, and the fourth-placed team advanced to the
inter-confederation play-offs.
Final positions (fifth round) The draw for the fifth round (to decide the fixtures) was held on 8 July 2016 at the CONCACAF headquarters in
Miami Beach,
United States.
CONMEBOL The qualification structure was the same as the previous five editions. The ten teams played in a league of home-and-away
round-robin matches. The top four teams qualified for the
2018 FIFA World Cup, and the fifth-placed team advanced to the
inter-confederation play-offs. Unlike previous qualifying tournaments where the fixtures were pre-determined, the fixtures were decided by a draw held on 25 July 2015, at the Konstantinovsky Palace in
Strelna,
Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Final positions OFC The qualification structure was as follows: A previous proposal adopted by the OFC in October 2014 would have the eight teams divided into two groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches in the second round, followed by the top two teams of each group advancing to the third round to play in a single group of home-and-away round-robin matches to decide the winners of the 2016 OFC Nations Cup which would qualify to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and advance to the inter-confederation play-offs. However, it was later reported in April 2015 that the OFC had reversed its decision, and the 2016 OFC Nations Cup was played as a one-off tournament similar to the
2012 OFC Nations Cup.
Final positions (third round) The draw for the third round was held on 8 July 2016 at the OFC headquarters in
Auckland,
New Zealand.
Final The draw for the final (which decided the order of legs) was held on 15 June 2017 at the OFC headquarters in
Auckland,
New Zealand. The winners of the final advanced to
inter-confederation play-offs.
UEFA Russia qualified automatically as hosts. The qualifying format for the remaining FIFA-affiliated UEFA teams was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee meeting on 22–23 March 2015 in
Vienna. •
First round (group stage): 52 UEFA teams affiliated with FIFA at the time of the draw were divided into nine groups (seven groups of six teams and two groups of five teams) to play home-and-away
round-robin matches. The winners of each group qualified for the
2018 FIFA World Cup, and the eight best runners-up advanced to the second round (play-offs). With the admission of
Gibraltar and
Kosovo as FIFA members in May 2016, both national teams were eligible to make their debuts in World Cup qualifying.
Final positions (first round) The draw for the first round was held on 25 July 2015, at the Konstantinovsky Palace in
Strelna,
Saint Petersburg, Russia. The winners of each tie qualified for the World Cup. ==Inter-confederation play-offs==