FIFA World Cup Finals 2018 Russia
The FIFA World Ranking is a ranking system for men’s national teams in association football, which was led by Germany in June 2018 and led by Belgium from September 2018 until spring 2022 . The national teams of the FIFA member nations were ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest. The rankings were introduced in December 1992. Brazil was ranked first for the longest time from 1994, holding it continuously for nearly seven years until 2001. Points are awarded based on the results of all FIFA-recognised full international matches.
For the Group stage draw the teams were divided into 4 pots according to their World Ranking in October 2017, with Pot 1 consisting of the highest ranked teams, Pot 2 had 2nd highest ranked teams, and so on. The host team Russia was included in Pot 1. One team was selected from each Pot to form on of the eight group for the Group Stage competition. FIFA World Cup performance history is shown for all national teams that participated in the World Cup 2018.
2018 FIFA World Cup Group Stage Draw
| FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 Group Stage Draw (1st December) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| Russia | Spain | Denmark | Serbia |
| Germany | Peru | Iceland | Nigeria |
| Brazil | Switzerland | Costa Rica | Australia |
| Portugal | England | Sweden | Japan |
| Argentina | Colombia | Tunisia | Morocco |
| Belgium | Mexico | Egypt | Panama |
| Poland | Uruguay | Senegal | South Korea |
| France | Croatia | Iran | Saudi Arabia |
FIFA Rankings June 2018
| Country | Rank | |
|---|---|---|
 | Germany | 1 |
 | Brazil | 2 |
 | Belgium | 3 |
 | Portugal | 4 |
 | Argentina | 5 |
 | Switzerland | 6 |
 | France | 7 |
 | Poland | 8 |
 | Spain | 10 |
 | Peru | 11 |
 | Denmark | 12 |
 | England | 12 |
 | Uruguay | 14 |
 | Mexico | 15 |
 | Colombia | 16 |
 | Croatia | 20 |
 | Tunisia | 21 |
 | Iceland | 22 |
 | Costa Rica | 23 |
 | Sweden | 24 |
 | Senegal | 27 |
 | Serbia | 34 |
 | Australia | 36 |
 | Iran | 37 |
 | Morocco | 41 |
 | Egypt | 45 |
 | Nigeria | 48 |
 | Panama | 55 |
 | South Korea | 57 |
 | Japan | 61 |
 | Saudi Arabia | 67 |
 | Russia | 70 |
FIFA Rankings June 2018
| Country | Qualification Method | Date | Appearances | Last App | Best Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | Host Nation | 2-Dec-10 | 11th | 2014 | Fourth Place (1966) |
 | Brazil | CONMEBOL Round Robin Winners | 28-Mar-17 | 21st | 2014 | Winners (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) |
 | Iran | AFC Third Round Group A Winners | 12-Jun-17 | 5th | 2014 | Group Stage (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014) |
 | Japan | AFC Third Round Group B Winners | 31-Aug-17 | 6th | 2014 | Round of 16 (2002, 2010) |
| Mexico | CONCACAF Fifth Round Winners | 1-Sep-17 | 16th | 2014 | Quarter-Finals (1970, 1986) |
| Belgium | UEFA Group H Winners | 3-Sep-17 | 13th | 2014 | Fourth Place (1986) |
 | South Korea | AFC Third Round Group A Runners-up | 5-Sep-17 | 10th | 2014 | Fourth Place (2002) |
 | Saudi Arabia | AFC Third Round Group B Runners-up | 5-Sep-17 | 5th | 2006 | Round of 16 (1994) |
| Germany | UEFA Group C Winners | 5-Oct-17 | 19th | 2014 | Winners (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) |
| England | UEFA Group F Winners | 5-Oct-17 | 15th | 2014 | Winners (1966) |
| Spain | UEFA Group G Winners | 6-Oct-17 | 12th | 2014 | Winners (2010) |
| Nigeria | CAF Group B Winners | 7-Oct-17 | 6th | 2014 | Round of 16 (1994, 1998, 2014) |
| Costa Rica | CONCACAF Fifth Round Runners-Up | 7-Oct-17 | 5th | 2014 | Quarter-Finals (2014) |
| Poland | UEFA Group E Winners | 8-Oct-17 | 8th | 2006 | Third Place (1974, 1982) |
| Egypt | CAF Group E Winners | 8-Oct-17 | 3rd | 1990 | First Round (1934, 1990) |
| Serbia | UEFA Group D Winners | 9-Oct-17 | 12th | 2010 | Fourth Place (1930, 1962) |
| Iceland | UEFA Group I Winners | 9-Oct-17 | 1st | None | None |
| France | UEFA Group A Winners | 10-Oct-17 | 15th | 2014 | Winners (1998) |
| Portugal | UEFA Group B Winners | 10-Oct-17 | 7th | 2014 | Third Place (1966) |
| Uruguay | CONMEBOL Round Robin 2nd place | 10-Oct-17 | 13th | 2014 | Winners (1930, 1950) |
| Argentina | CONMEBOL Round Robin 3rd place | 10-Oct-17 | 17th | 2014 | Winners (1978, 1986) |
| Colombia | CONMEBOL Round Robin 4th place | 10-Oct-17 | 6th | 2014 | Quarter-Finals (2014) |
| Panama | CONCACAF Fifth Round Third Place | 10-Oct-17 | 1st | None | None |
| Senegal | CAF Group D Winners | 10-Nov-17 | 2nd | 2002 | Quarter-Finals (2002) |
| Morocco | CAF Group C Winners | 11-Nov-17 | 5th | 1998 | Round of 16 (1986) |
| Tunisia | CAF Group A Winners | 11-Nov-17 | 5th | 2006 | Group Stage (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006) |
| Switzerland | UEFA Play-Off Winners 1 | 12-Nov-17 | 11th | 2014 | Quarter Finals (1934, 1938, 1954) |
| Croatia | UEFA Play-Off Winners 2 | 12-Nov-17 | 5th | 2014 | Semi-Final (1998) |
| Sweden | UEFA Play-Off Winners 3 | 13-Nov-17 | 12th | 2006 | Final (1958) |
| Denmark | UEFA Play-Off Winners 4 | 14-Nov-17 | 5th | 2010 | Quarter Finals (1998) |
 | Australia | CONCACAF / AFC Play-Off Winners | 15-Nov-17 | 5th | 2014 | Second Round (2006) |
| Peru | OFC / CONMEBOL Play-Off Winners | 15-Nov-17 | 5th | 1982 | Quarter Finals (1970, 1978) |
About the author: Jennifer Jardine
Jennifer Jardine joined the team at MFF back in April 2009, enabling it to become the go to football facts and football stats website used by visitors from around the world for reliable data. She can often be seen working on the website to ensure it continues to bring valuable information to football fans from around the world.