European teams begin their qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup this week.
With the Euro 2016 done and dusted now and the domestic season well underway, European powerhouses will begin their journey to Russia now.
World champions Germany will be hoping to make a strong start when they take on Norway this week. The Germans had a disappointing Euros and will look to redeem themselves here.
Elsewhere, the likes of England, Spain, Italy and Belgium will look to establish their credentials under new managers.
A total of 209 teams will participate in the World Cup 2018 qualifiers. The qualification campaign for African, South/North/Central American, Asian, Oceania nations have already begun.
In the rest of the article, we look at:
1. World Cup 2018 Qualifiers: Fixtures & TV Listings
2. World Cup 2018 Qualifiers: Live Streaming
3. World Cup 2018 Qualifiers: Talking Points
4. World Cup 2018 Qualifiers: The Process
World Cup 2018 Qualifiers: Fixtures & TV Listings
CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers
Friday, September 2, 2016
St. Vincent/Grenadines vs. USA, 3:30pm: beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español and fuboTV
Honduras vs. Canada, 5:06pm: beIN SPORTS Connect (#3) and fuboTV
Trinidad & Tobago vs. Guatemala, 7:00pm: beIN SPORTS Connect (#4) and fuboTV
Haiti vs. Costa Rica, 8:00pm: beIN SPORTS and fuboTV
Panama vs. Jamaica, 9:30pm: beIN SPORTS Connect (#3), and fuboTV
El Salvador vs. Mexico, 10:06pm: beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español and fuboTV
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Guatemala vs. St. Vincent/Grenadines, 8:15pm: beIN SPORTS Connect and fuboTV
USA vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 8:15pm: FOX Sports 1 and fuboTV
Costa Rica vs. Panama, 9:30pm: beIN SPORTS Connect and fuboTV
Jamaica vs. Haiti, 9:30pm: beIN SPORTS Connect and fuboTV
Mexico vs. Honduras, 10:00pm: FOX Sports 1 and fuboTV
Canada vs. El Salvador, 10:00pm: fuboTV
CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Bolivia vs. Peru, 4:00pm: beIN SPORTS Connect (#3) and fuboTV
Colombia vs. Venezuela, 4:30pm: beIN SPORTS en Español and fuboTV
Ecuador vs. Brazil, 5:00pm: beIN SPORTS and fuboTV
Argentina vs. Uruguay, 7:30pm: beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español and fuboTV
Paraguay vs. Chile: beIN SPORTS Connect (#3), beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español and fuboTV
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Uruguay vs. Paraguay, 7:00pm: beIN SPORTS Connect and fuboTV
Venezuela vs. Argentina, 7:00pm: beIN SPORTS and fuboTV
Chile vs. Bolivia, 8:30pm: beIN SPORTS Connect and fuboTV
Brazil vs. Colombia, 8:45pm: beIN SPORTS en Español and fuboTV
Peru vs. Ecuador: beIN SPORTS Connect, beIN SPORTS & beIN SPORTS en Español and fuboTV
EUROPEAN World Cup Qualifiers
Sunday, September 4
Denmark vs. Armenia, 12:00pm: FOX Sports 2
Slovakia vs. England, 12:00pm: ESPN Deportes, ESPN3
Lithuania vs. Slovenia, 12:00pm: FOX Soccer Plus
Kazakhstan vs. Poland, 12:00pm: ESPN3
San Marino vs. Azerbaijan, 12:00pm: ESPN3
Norway vs. Germany, 2:45pm: FOX Sports 2
Czech Rep. vs. No. Ireland, 2:45pm: ESPN Deportes, ESPN3
Malta vs. Scotland, 2:45pm: FOX Soccer Plus
Romania vs. Montenegro, 2:45pm: ESPN3
Monday, September 5
Georgia vs. Austria, 12:00pm: ESPN Deportes, ESPN3
Spain vs. Liechtenstein, 2:45pm: FOX Sports 1
Ukraine vs. Iceland, 2:45pm: FOX Sports 2
Israel vs. Italy, 2:45pm: ESPN Deportes, ESPN3
Wales vs. Moldova, 2:45pm: ESPN3
Croatia vs. Turkey, 2:45pm: ESPN3
Serbia vs. Rep. of Ireland, 2:45pm: ESPN3
Albania vs. Macedonia, 2:45pm: FOX Soccer 2GO
Finland vs. Kosovo, 2:45pm: FOX Soccer Plus
Tuesday, September 6
Sweden vs. Netherlands, 2:45pm: ESPN2, ESPN Deportes
Switzerland vs. Portugal, 2:45pm: FOX Sports 1
Belarus vs. France, 2:45pm: FOX Sports 2
Cyprus vs. Belgium, 2:45pm: FOX Soccer Plus
Bosnia & Herzegovina vs. Estonia, 2:45pm: FOX Soccer 2GO
Bulgaria vs. Luxembourg, 2:45pm: FOX Soccer 2GO
Andorra vs. Latvia, 2:45pm: FOX Soccer 2GO
Gibraltar vs. Greece, 2:45pm: ESPN3
Faroe Islands vs. Hungary, 2:45pm: ESPN3
World Cup 2018 Qualifiers: Live Streaming
With the European teams ready to join the World Cup qualifying campaign this week, things are about to get interesting.
You can catch all the action live online whether you are from the United States or the United Kingdom.
If you are from the US, all the qualifiers will be available live online on fuboTV.
fuboTV is a streaming service which bundles live football channels, featuring live matches, club videos, series, documentaries, news & more to TVs, gaming consoles and mobile devices.
With fuboTV PRO you can watch live matches from the World Cup qualifiers through live channels beIN Sports, Univision Deportes, UniMás, GolTV HD. You’ll also have access to several other championships, including the Copa America, Copa America Centenario, CONMEBOL.
fuboTV PRO is available at a price of 9.99 USD per month. Click here to join now.
For viewers outside of US/Canada, you can watch the games live using Unblock-Me. It is a SmartDNS service costing either $4.99/month or $49.90/year and will allow you to access streams that are other geo-restricted.
World Cup 2018 Qualifiers: Talking Points
- England will begin their qualifying campaign under their new manager Sam Allardyce. The Three Lions have always underperformed in major tournaments and their development under Allardyce should be interesting to watch.
- Spain’s golden period under De Bosque came to an unfortunate end at the Euros and the all-conquering international powerhouse will now look to rediscover themselves under the tutelage of Lopetegui.
- Belgium’s golden generation have so far failed to live up to the hype and their performances under Roberto Martinez will need to improve.
- Lionel Messi has decided to reverse his retirement decision and the best player in the world will have one final chance to make his mark at the international stage in Russia. But first, he will need to help his country get there.
- Germany will look to defend their crown in Russia and the preparations will have to begin now. Low’s side disappointed in Euros and this will be their chance of redemption.
World Cup 2018 Qualifiers: The Process
The World Cup qualification campaign is usually a two-year long event and the purpose of the qualifiers is to pick out 31 countries out of the 210 participating nations to compete in the ultimate event – the FIFA World Cup finals.
The host nation is automatically guaranteed a place in the finals of the competition.
The qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia started on the 12th of March 2015, and will end on the 14th of November next year.
Number of teams from each confederation
Asia: 46 Nations involved
Africa: 54 Nations involved
South America: 10 Nations involved
Oceania: 11 Nations involved
CONCACAF: 35 Nations involved
Europe: 54 Nations involved