ST PETERSBURG: European qualifying competition draw for 2018 World Cup in Russia. GROUP A Netherlands France Sweden Bulgaria Belarus Luxembourg GROUP B Portugal Switzerland Hungary Faroe Islands Latvia Andorra GROUP C Germany Czech Republic Northern Ireland Norway Azerbaijan San Marino GROUP D Wales Austria Serbia Ireland Moldova Georgia GROUP E Romania Denmark Poland Montenegro Armenia Kazakhstan GROUP F England Slovakia Scotland Slovenia Lithuania Malta GROUP G Spain Italy Albania Israel FYR Macedonia Liechtenstein GROUP H Belgium Bosnia Greece Estonia Cyprus GROUP I Croatia Iceland Ukraine Turkey Finland
The nine group winners advance directly to the World Cup finals.
The eight runners-up with the best record against the teams first, third, fourth and fifth in their groups proceed to playoffs to decide the remaining four European berths.
Tournament hosts Russia are given a bye to the finals. --Reuters