The2018 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group G was one of the nineUEFA groups for2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. The group consisted of six teams:Spain,Italy,Albania,Israel,Macedonia, andLiechtenstein.
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 18:00MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace inStrelna,Saint Petersburg, Russia.[1][2]
The group winners, Spain, qualified directly for the2018 FIFA World Cup. The group runners-up, Italy, advanced to theplay-offs as one of the best eight runners-up.
| 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):[3]
|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 3 | +33 | 28 | Qualification to2018 FIFA World Cup | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 8–0 | |
| 2 | Italy | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 8 | +13 | 23 | Advance tosecond round | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | |
| 3 | Albania | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 13 | −3 | 13 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–0 | ||
| 4 | Israel | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 15 | −5 | 12 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 | 2–1 | ||
| 5 | Macedonia | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 4–0 | ||
| 6 | Liechtenstein | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 39 | −38 | 0 | 0–8 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | — |
The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 26 July 2015, the day following the draw.[1][4] Times areCET/CEST,[note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times are in parentheses).[5]
| Albania | 2–1[note 2] | Macedonia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link] Report (MacedonianFootball) |
|
| Macedonia | 1–2 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link] Report (MacedonianFootball) |
|
| Israel | 2–1 | Liechtenstein |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link] |
|
| Liechtenstein | 0–3 | Macedonia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link] |
|
| Italy | 5–0 | Liechtenstein |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link] |
| Macedonia | 1–1 | Albania |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link] |
|
| Macedonia | 4–0 | Liechtenstein |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link] |
There were 93 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 3.1 goals per match.
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Ansi AgolliLedian MemushajEliran AtarDan EinbinderLior RefaelovEytan TibiEran ZahaviFederico BernardeschiGiorgio ChielliniÉderManolo GabbiadiniLorenzo InsigneGraziano PellèMaximilian GöppelArijan AdemiEzgjan AlioskiEnis BardhiFerhan HasaniVisar MusliuBoban NikolovGoran PandevStefan RistovskiAritz AdurizAsier IllarramendiNacho MonrealNolitoSergio RamosSergi RobertoRodrigoThiago1 own goal
Maximilian Göppel (against Spain)Peter Jehle (against Albania)Darko Velkovski (against Spain)A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[9]
The following suspensions were served during the qualifying matches:
| Player | Team | Offence(s) | Suspended for match(es) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giorgio Chiellini | Italy |   vs Israel (5 September 2016) | vs Spain (6 October 2016) |
| Eytan Tibi | Israel |  vs Macedonia (6 October 2016) | vs Liechtenstein (9 October 2016) |
| Marco Parolo | Italy | vs Spain (6 October 2016) vs Macedonia (9 October 2016) | vs Liechtenstein (12 November 2016) |
| Nicolas Hasler | Liechtenstein | vs Spain (5 September 2016) vs Israel (9 October 2016) | vs Italy (12 November 2016) |
| Etrit Berisha | Albania | vs Israel (12 November 2016) | vs Italy (24 March 2017) vs Israel (11 June 2017) |
| Berat Djimsiti | vs Italy (24 March 2017) | ||
| David Goresh | Israel | vs Macedonia (6 October 2016) vs Albania (12 November 2016) | vs Spain (24 March 2017) |
| Daniel Kaufmann | Liechtenstein | vs Spain (5 September 2016) vs Italy (12 November 2016) | vs Macedonia (24 March 2017) |
| Yves Oehri | vs Albania (6 October 2016) vs Italy (12 November 2016) | ||
| Ezgjan Alioski | Macedonia | vs Italy (9 October 2016) vs Spain (12 November 2016) | vs Liechtenstein (24 March 2017) |
| Ansi Agolli | Albania | vs Spain (9 October 2016) vs Italy (24 March 2017) | vs Israel (11 June 2017) |
| Michele Polverino | Liechtenstein | vs Spain (5 September 2016) vs Italy (11 June 2017) | vs Albania (2 September 2017) |
| Leonardo Bonucci | Italy | vs Spain (6 October 2016) vs Spain (2 September 2017) | vs Israel (5 September 2017) |
| Eljif Elmas | Macedonia | vs Spain (11 June 2017) vs Israel (2 September 2017) | vs Albania (5 September 2017) |
| Burim Kukeli | Albania | vs Italy (24 March 2017) vs Macedonia (5 September 2017) | vs Spain (6 October 2017) |
| Mërgim Mavraj | vs Spain (9 October 2016) vs Macedonia (5 September 2017) | ||
| Odise Roshi | vs Italy (24 March 2017) vs Macedonia (5 September 2017) | ||
| Almog Cohen | Israel | vs Macedonia (6 October 2016) vs Italy (5 September 2017) | vs Liechtenstein (6 October 2017) |
| Kire Ristevski | Macedonia | vs Spain (11 June 2017) vs Albania (5 September 2017) | vs Italy (6 October 2017) |
| Sergio Busquets | Spain | vs Italy (6 October 2016) vs Liechtenstein (5 September 2017) | vs Albania (6 October 2017) |
| Azdren Llullaku | Albania | vs Israel (12 November 2016) vs Spain (6 October 2017) | vs Italy (9 October 2017) |
| Taulant Xhaka | |||
| Marcel Büchel | Liechtenstein | vs Israel (9 October 2016) vs Israel (6 October 2017) | vs Macedonia (9 October 2017) |
| Franz Burgmeier | vs Albania (6 October 2016) vs Israel (6 October 2017) | ||
| Nicolas Hasler | vs Macedonia (24 March 2017) vs Israel (6 October 2017) | ||
| Stefan Spirovski | Macedonia | vs Italy (9 October 2016) vs Italy (6 October 2017) | vs Liechtenstein (9 October 2017) |
| Gerard Piqué | Spain | vs Italy (6 October 2016) vs Albania (6 October 2017) | vs Israel (9 October 2017) |
| David Silva | vs Macedonia (11 June 2017) vs Albania (6 October 2017) |
