2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group C

The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group C was one of the nine UEFA groups for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. The group consisted of six teams: Germany, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Norway, Azerbaijan, and San Marino.

The draw was for the first round (group stage) which was not 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]

The group winners, Germany, who finished with a 100% record, qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The group runners-up, Northern Ireland, advanced to the play-offs as one of the best eight runners-up.

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):^[3] Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss) Overall goal difference Overall goals scored Points in matches between tied teams Goal difference in matches between tied teams Goals scored in matches between tied teams Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie was only between two teams in home-and-away league format) 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 Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	10	10	0	0	43	4	+39	30	Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup	—	2–0	3–0	6–0	5–1	7–0
2	Northern Ireland	10	6	1	3	17	6	+11	19	Advance to second round	1–3	—	2–0	2–0	4–0	4–0
3	Czech Republic	10	4	3	3	17	10	+7	15		1–2	0–0	—	2–1	0–0	5–0
4	Norway	10	4	1	5	17	16	+1	13		0–3	1–0	1–1	—	2–0	4–1
5	Azerbaijan	10	3	1	6	10	19	−9	10		1–4	0–1	1–2	1–0	—	5–1
6	San Marino	10	0	0	10	2	51	−49	0		0–8	0–3	0–6	0–8	0–1	—

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Matches

The fixture list was confirmed by UEFA on 26 July 2015, the day following the draw.^[1]^[4] Times are CET/CEST,^{[note 1]} as listed by UEFA (local times are in parentheses).^[5]

4 September 2016

18:00
(18:00 UTC+2)

San Marino	0–1	Azerbaijan
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Qurbanov 45'

San Marino Stadium, Serravalle

Attendance: 886

Referee: Sébastien Delferière (Belgium)

4 September 2016

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Czech Republic	0–0	Northern Ireland
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Generali Arena, Prague

Attendance: 10,731

Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (Greece)

4 September 2016

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Norway	0–3	Germany
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Müller 16', 60' Kimmich 45'

Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo

Attendance: 26,793

Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)

8 October 2016

18:00
(20:00 UTC+4)

Azerbaijan	1–0	Norway
Medvedev 11'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Olympic Stadium, Baku

Attendance: 35,000

Referee: Liran Liany (Israel)

8 October 2016

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Germany	3–0	Czech Republic
Müller 13', 65' Kroos 49'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Volksparkstadion, Hamburg

Attendance: 51,299

Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (Romania)

8 October 2016

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Northern Ireland	4–0	San Marino
Davis 26' (pen.) K. Lafferty 79', 90+4' Ward 85'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 18,234

Referee: István Kovács (Romania)

11 October 2016

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Czech Republic	0–0	Azerbaijan
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Municipal Stadium, Ostrava

Attendance: 12,148

Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)

11 October 2016

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Germany	2–0	Northern Ireland
Draxler 13' Khedira 17'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover

Attendance: 42,132

Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (Italy)

11 October 2016

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Norway	4–1	San Marino
D. Simoncini 12' (o.g.) Diomande 77' Samuelsen 82' King 83'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Stefanelli 54'

Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo

Attendance: 8,214

Referee: Benoît Bastien (France)

11 November 2016

20:45
(20:45 UTC+1)

Czech Republic	2–1	Norway
Krmenčík 11' Zmrhal 47'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	King 87'

Eden Arena, Prague

Attendance: 16,411

Referee: Bas Nijhuis (Netherlands)

11 November 2016

20:45
(19:45 UTC±0)

Northern Ireland	4–0	Azerbaijan
K. Lafferty 27' McAuley 40' C. McLaughlin 66' Brunt 83'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 18,404

Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

11 November 2016

20:45
(20:45 UTC+1)

San Marino	0–8	Germany
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Khedira 7' Gnabry 9', 58', 76' Hector 32', 65' Stefanelli 82' (o.g.) Volland 85'

San Marino Stadium, Serravalle

Attendance: 3,851

Referee: Artyom Kuchin (Kazakhstan)

26 March 2017

18:00
(20:00 UTC+4)

Azerbaijan	1–4	Germany
Nazarov 31'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Schürrle 19', 81' Müller 36' Gómez 45'

Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, Baku

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy)

26 March 2017

18:00
(18:00 UTC+2)

San Marino	0–6	Czech Republic
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Barák 17', 24' Darida 19', 77' (pen.) Gebre Selassie 26' Krmenčík 43'

San Marino Stadium, Serravalle

Attendance: 1,023

Referee: Kristo Tohver (Estonia)

26 March 2017

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Northern Ireland	2–0	Norway
Ward 2' Washington 33'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 18,161

Referee: Hüseyin Göçek (Turkey)

10 June 2017

18:00
(20:00 UTC+4)

Azerbaijan	0–1	Northern Ireland
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Dallas 90+2'

Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, Baku

Attendance: 27,978

Referee: Xavier Estrada Fernández (Spain)

10 June 2017

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Germany	7–0	San Marino
Draxler 11' Wagner 16', 29', 85' Younes 38' Mustafi 47' Brandt 72'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Stadion Nürnberg, Nuremberg

Attendance: 32,467

Referee: Radu Petrescu (Romania)

10 June 2017

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Norway	1–1	Czech Republic
Søderlund 55' (pen.)	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Gebre Selassie 36'

Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo

Attendance: 12,179

Referee: Andre Marriner (England)

1 September 2017

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Czech Republic	1–2	Germany
Darida 78'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Werner 4' Hummels 88'

Eden Arena, Prague

Attendance: 18,093

Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)

1 September 2017

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Norway	2–0	Azerbaijan
King 31' (pen.) Sadygov 60' (o.g.)	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo

Attendance: 8,599

Referee: Daniel Stefański (Poland)

1 September 2017

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

San Marino	0–3	Northern Ireland
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Magennis 70', 75' Davis 78' (pen.)

San Marino Stadium, Serravalle

Attendance: 2,544

Referee: Enea Jorgji (Albania)

4 September 2017

18:00
(20:00 UTC+4)

Azerbaijan	5–1	San Marino
Ismayilov 20', 57' Abdullayev 24' Cevoli 71' (o.g.) Sadygov 81'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Palazzi 74'

Bakcell Arena, Baku

Attendance: 8,000

Referee: Nikola Dabanović (Montenegro)

4 September 2017

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Germany	6–0	Norway
Özil 10' Draxler 17' Werner 21', 40' Goretzka 50' Gómez 79'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart

Attendance: 53,814

Referee: Gediminas Mažeika (Lithuania)

4 September 2017

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Northern Ireland	2–0	Czech Republic
J. Evans 28' Brunt 41'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 18,167

Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy)

5 October 2017

18:00
(20:00 UTC+4)

Azerbaijan	1–2	Czech Republic
Ismayilov 55' (pen.)	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Kopic 35' Barák 66'

National Stadium, Baku

Attendance: 16,200

Referee: Benoît Millot (France)

5 October 2017

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Northern Ireland	1–3	Germany
Magennis 90+3'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Rudy 2' Wagner 21' Kimmich 86'

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 18,104

Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

5 October 2017

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

San Marino	0–8	Norway
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Henriksen 8' King 14' (pen.), 17' Elyounoussi 39', 48', 68' Selnæs 58' Linnes 86'

San Marino Stadium, Serravalle

Attendance: 1,922

Referee: Andrew Dallas (Scotland)

8 October 2017

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Czech Republic	5–0	San Marino
Krmenčík 8', 23' Kopic 27' Novák 71' Kadlec 83'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Doosan Arena, Plzeň

Attendance: 5,625

Referee: Alex Troleis (Faroe Islands)

8 October 2017

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Germany	5–1	Azerbaijan
Goretzka 8', 66' Wagner 54' Rüdiger 64' Can 81'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)	Sheydayev 34'

Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern

Attendance: 34,613

Referee: Andris Treimanis (Latvia)

8 October 2017

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Norway	1–0	Northern Ireland
Brunt 71' (o.g.)	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)

Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo

Attendance: 10,244

Referee: Serhiy Boyko (Ukraine)

Goalscorers

There were 106 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 3.53 goals per match.

5 goals

4 goals

Michal Krmenčík

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Rashad Sadygov (against Norway)
Chris Brunt (against Norway)
Michele Cevoli (against Azerbaijan)
Davide Simoncini (against Norway)
Mattia Stefanelli (against Germany)

Discipline

A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:^[6]

Receiving a red card (red card suspensions could be extended for serious offences)
Receiving two yellow cards in two different matches (yellow card suspensions were carried forward to the play-offs, but not the finals or any other future international matches)

The following suspensions were served during the qualifying matches:

Player	Team	Offence(s)	Suspended for match(es)
Cristian Brolli	San Marino	vs Azerbaijan (4 September 2016)	vs Northern Ireland (8 October 2016)
Stefan Johansen	Norway	vs Germany (4 September 2016) vs Azerbaijan (8 October 2016)	vs San Marino (11 October 2016)
David Pavelka	Czech Republic	vs Northern Ireland (4 September 2016) vs Germany (8 October 2016)	vs Azerbaijan (11 October 2016)
Mirko Palazzi	San Marino	vs Northern Ireland (8 October 2016)	vs Norway (11 October 2016)
Matteo Vitaioli	San Marino	vs Azerbaijan (4 September 2016) vs Northern Ireland (8 October 2016)	vs Norway (11 October 2016)
Shane Ferguson	Northern Ireland	vs Germany (11 October 2016) vs Azerbaijan (11 November 2016)	vs Norway (26 March 2017)
Haitam Aleesami	Norway	vs Azerbaijan (8 October 2016) vs Czech Republic (11 November 2016)	vs Northern Ireland (26 March 2017)
Sami Khedira	Germany	vs Norway (4 September 2016) vs Azerbaijan (26 March 2017)	vs San Marino (10 June 2017)
Davide Simoncini	San Marino	vs Norway (11 October 2016) vs Czech Republic (26 March 2017)	vs Germany (10 June 2017)
Matteo Vitaioli		vs Germany (11 November 2016) vs Czech Republic (26 March 2017)	vs Germany (10 June 2017)
Pier Filippo Mazza		vs Czech Republic (26 March 2017) vs Germany (10 June 2017)	vs Northern Ireland (1 September 2017)
Badavi Guseynov	Azerbaijan	vs Norway (1 September 2017)	vs San Marino (4 September 2017)
Maksim Medvedev		vs Northern Ireland (10 June 2017) vs Norway (1 September 2017)
Dimitrij Nazarov		vs Northern Ireland (11 November 2016) vs Norway (1 September 2017)
Giovanni Bonini	San Marino	vs Germany (10 June 2017) vs Northern Ireland (1 September 2017)	vs Azerbaijan (4 September 2017)
Tomáš Kalas	Czech Republic	vs Germany (1 September 2017) vs Northern Ireland (4 September 2017)	vs Azerbaijan (5 October 2017)
Michele Cervellini	San Marino	vs Germany (10 June 2017) vs Norway (5 October 2017)	vs Czech Republic (8 October 2017)
Davide Simoncini	San Marino	vs Northern Ireland (1 September 2017) vs Norway (5 October 2017)	vs Czech Republic (8 October 2017)

Notes

^ CET (UTC+1) for matches on 11 November 2016, and CEST (UTC+2) for all other matches.

References

^ ^a ^b "FIFA World Cup qualifying draw format". UEFA.com. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2016.
^ "European teams learn World Cup qualifying fate". UEFA.com. 25 July 2015. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015.
^ "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016.
^ "World Cup European Qualifiers fixtures confirmed". UEFA.com. 26 July 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016.
^ "Fixture List – 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition" (PDF). UEFA.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2015.
^ "Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2014-16" (PDF). UEFA.com.

External links

Official FIFA World Cup website
- Qualifiers – Europe: Round 1, FIFA.com
FIFA World Cup, UEFA.com
- Standings – Qualifying round: Group C, UEFA.com

[Time_zone-5] CET (UTC+1) for matches on 11 November 2016, and CEST (UTC+2) for all other matches.

[draw_format-1] "FIFA World Cup qualifying draw format". UEFA.com. 16 June 2015. Archived from the original on 26 June 2016.

[2] "European teams learn World Cup qualifying fate". UEFA.com. 25 July 2015. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015.

[3] "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016.

[4] "World Cup European Qualifiers fixtures confirmed". UEFA.com. 26 July 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016.

[6] "Fixture List – 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition" (PDF). UEFA.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2015.

[regulations-7] "Regulations of the UEFA European Football Championship 2014-16" (PDF). UEFA.com.

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[note 1]

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