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]

San Marino	0–1	Azerbaijan
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Qurbanov 45'

4 September 2016 (2016-09-04)

18:00
(18:00 UTC+2)

San Marino Stadium, Serravalle

Attendance: 886

Referee: Sébastien Delferière (Belgium)

Czech Republic	0–0	Northern Ireland
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

4 September 2016 (2016-09-04)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Generali Arena, Prague

Attendance: 10,731

Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (Greece)

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

4 September 2016 (2016-09-04)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo

Attendance: 26,793

Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)

---

Azerbaijan	1–0	Norway
Medvedev 11'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

8 October 2016 (2016-10-08)

18:00
(20:00 UTC+4)

Olympic Stadium, Baku

Attendance: 35,000

Referee: Liran Liany (Israel)

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

8 October 2016 (2016-10-08)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Volksparkstadion, Hamburg

Attendance: 51,299

Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (Romania)

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

8 October 2016 (2016-10-08)

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 18,234

Referee: István Kovács (Romania)

---

Czech Republic	0–0	Azerbaijan
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

11 October 2016 (2016-10-11)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Municipal Stadium, Ostrava

Attendance: 12,148

Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)

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

11 October 2016 (2016-10-11)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover

Attendance: 42,132

Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (Italy)

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

11 October 2016 (2016-10-11)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo

Attendance: 8,214

Referee: Benoît Bastien (France)

---

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

11 November 2016 (2016-11-11)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+1)

Eden Arena, Prague

Attendance: 16,411

Referee: Bas Nijhuis (Netherlands)

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

11 November 2016 (2016-11-11)

20:45
(19:45 UTC±0)

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 18,404

Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

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

11 November 2016 (2016-11-11)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+1)

San Marino Stadium, Serravalle

Attendance: 3,851

Referee: Artyom Kuchin (Kazakhstan)

---

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

26 March 2017 (2017-03-26)

18:00
(20:00 UTC+4)

Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, Baku

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy)

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

26 March 2017 (2017-03-26)

18:00
(18:00 UTC+2)

San Marino Stadium, Serravalle

Attendance: 1,023

Referee: Kristo Tohver (Estonia)

Northern Ireland	2–0	Norway
Ward 2' Washington 33'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

26 March 2017 (2017-03-26)

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 18,161

Referee: Hüseyin Göçek (Turkey)

---

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

10 June 2017 (2017-06-10)

18:00
(20:00 UTC+4)

Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, Baku

Attendance: 27,978

Referee: Xavier Estrada Fernández (Spain)

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

10 June 2017 (2017-06-10)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Stadion Nürnberg, Nuremberg

Attendance: 32,467

Referee: Radu Petrescu (Romania)

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

10 June 2017 (2017-06-10)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo

Attendance: 12,179

Referee: Andre Marriner (England)

---

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

1 September 2017 (2017-09-01)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Eden Arena, Prague

Attendance: 18,093

Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)

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

1 September 2017 (2017-09-01)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo

Attendance: 8,599

Referee: Daniel Stefański (Poland)

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

1 September 2017 (2017-09-01)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

San Marino Stadium, Serravalle

Attendance: 2,544

Referee: Enea Jorgji (Albania)

---

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

4 September 2017 (2017-09-04)

18:00
(20:00 UTC+4)

Bakcell Arena, Baku

Attendance: 8,000

Referee: Nikola Dabanović (Montenegro)

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

4 September 2017 (2017-09-04)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart

Attendance: 53,814

Referee: Gediminas Mažeika (Lithuania)

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

4 September 2017 (2017-09-04)

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 18,167

Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy)

---

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

5 October 2017 (2017-10-05)

18:00
(20:00 UTC+4)

National Stadium, Baku

Attendance: 16,200

Referee: Benoît Millot (France)

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

5 October 2017 (2017-10-05)

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Windsor Park, Belfast

Attendance: 18,104

Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

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

5 October 2017 (2017-10-05)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

San Marino Stadium, Serravalle

Attendance: 1,922

Referee: Andrew Dallas (Scotland)

---

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

8 October 2017 (2017-10-08)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Doosan Arena, Plzeň

Attendance: 5,625

Referee: Alex Troleis (Faroe Islands)

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

8 October 2017 (2017-10-08)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern

Attendance: 34,613

Referee: Andris Treimanis (Latvia)

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

8 October 2017 (2017-10-08)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

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

• Thomas Müller
• Sandro Wagner
• Joshua King

4 goals

• Michal Krmenčík

3 goals

• Afran Ismayilov
• Antonín Barák
• Vladimír Darida
• Julian Draxler
• Serge Gnabry
• Leon Goretzka
• Timo Werner
• Kyle Lafferty
• Josh Magennis
• Mohamed Elyounoussi

2 goals

• Theodor Gebre Selassie
• Jan Kopic
• Mario Gómez
• Jonas Hector
• Sami Khedira
• Joshua Kimmich
• André Schürrle
• Chris Brunt
• Steven Davis
• Jamie Ward

1 goal

• Araz Abdullayev
• Maksim Medvedev
• Dimitrij Nazarov
• Ruslan Qurbanov
• Rashad Sadygov
• Ramil Sheydayev
• Václav Kadlec
• Filip Novák
• Jaromír Zmrhal
• Julian Brandt
• Emre Can
• Mats Hummels
• Toni Kroos
• Shkodran Mustafi
• Mesut Özil
• Antonio Rüdiger
• Sebastian Rudy
• Kevin Volland
• Amin Younes
• Stuart Dallas
• Jonny Evans
• Gareth McAuley
• Conor McLaughlin
• Conor Washington
• Adama Diomande
• Markus Henriksen
• Martin Linnes
• Martin Samuelsen
• Ole Selnæs
• Alexander Søderlund
• Mirko Palazzi
• Mattia Stefanelli

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		vs Azerbaijan (4 September 2016) vs Northern Ireland (8 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)
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		vs Northern Ireland (1 September 2017) vs Norway (5 October 2017)

Notes

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