2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group F

The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group F was one of the nine UEFA groups for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. The group consisted of six teams: England, Slovakia, Scotland, Slovenia, Lithuania, and Malta.

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 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.^[1][2]

The group winners, England, qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The group runners-up, Slovakia, were eliminated as the worst runners-up.^[1]

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	England	10	8	2	0	18	3	+15	26	Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup		—	2–1	3–0	1–0	2–0	2–0
2	Slovakia	10	6	0	4	17	7	+10	18			0–1	—	3–0	1–0	4–0	3–0
3	Scotland	10	5	3	2	17	12	+5	18			2–2	1–0	—	1–0	1–1	2–0
4	Slovenia	10	4	3	3	12	7	+5	15			0–0	1–0	2–2	—	4–0	2–0
5	Lithuania	10	1	3	6	7	20	−13	6			0–1	1–2	0–3	2–2	—	2–0
6	Malta	10	0	1	9	3	25	−22	1			0–4	1–3	1–5	0–1	1–1	—

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]

Lithuania	2–2	Slovenia
Černych 32' Slivka 34'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Krhin 77' Cesar 90+3'

4 September 2016 (2016-09-04)

18:00
(19:00 UTC+3)

LFF Stadium, Vilnius

Attendance: 4,114

Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)

Slovakia	0–1	England
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Lallana 90+5'

4 September 2016 (2016-09-04)

18:00
(18:00 UTC+2)

Štadión Antona Malatinského, Trnava

Attendance: 18,111

Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)

Malta	1–5	Scotland
Effiong 14'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Snodgrass 10', 61' (pen.), 84' C. Martin 53' S. Fletcher 78'

4 September 2016 (2016-09-04)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

National Stadium, Ta' Qali

Attendance: 15,069

Referee: Yevhen Aranovsky (Ukraine)

---

England	2–0	Malta
Sturridge 29' Alli 38'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

8 October 2016 (2016-10-08)

18:00
(17:00 UTC+1)

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 81,781

Referee: Stefan Johannesson (Sweden)

Scotland	1–1	Lithuania
McArthur 89'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Černych 59'

8 October 2016 (2016-10-08)

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 35,966

Referee: Tobias Stieler (Germany)

Slovenia	1–0	Slovakia
Kronaveter 74'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

8 October 2016 (2016-10-08)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana

Attendance: 10,492

Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)

---

Lithuania	2–0	Malta
Černych 76' Novikovas 84' (pen.)	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

11 October 2016 (2016-10-11)

20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

LFF Stadium, Vilnius

Attendance: 5,067

Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain)

Slovakia	3–0	Scotland
Mak 18', 56' Nemec 68'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

11 October 2016 (2016-10-11)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Štadión Antona Malatinského, Trnava

Attendance: 11,098

Referee: Martin Strömbergsson (Sweden)

Slovenia	0–0	England
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

11 October 2016 (2016-10-11)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana

Attendance: 13,274

Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Germany)

---

England	3–0	Scotland
Sturridge 23' Lallana 50' Cahill 61'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

11 November 2016 (2016-11-11)

20:45
(19:45 UTC±0)

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 87,258

Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)

Malta	0–1	Slovenia
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Verbič 47'

11 November 2016 (2016-11-11)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+1)

National Stadium, Ta' Qali

Attendance: 4,207

Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (Poland)

Slovakia	4–0	Lithuania
Nemec 12' Kucka 15' Škrtel 36' Hamšík 86'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

11 November 2016 (2016-11-11)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+1)

Štadión Antona Malatinského, Trnava

Attendance: 9,653

Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (Greece)

---

England	2–0	Lithuania
Defoe 22' Vardy 66'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

26 March 2017 (2017-03-26)

18:00
(17:00 UTC+1)

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 77,690

Referee: Ruddy Buquet (France)

Malta	1–3	Slovakia
Farrugia 14'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Weiss 2' Greguš 41' Nemec 84'

26 March 2017 (2017-03-26)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

National Stadium, Ta' Qali

Attendance: 4,980

Referee: Ali Palabıyık (Turkey)

Scotland	1–0	Slovenia
C. Martin 88'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

26 March 2017 (2017-03-26)

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 20,435

Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)

---

Scotland	2–2	England
Griffiths 87', 90'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Oxlade-Chamberlain 70' Kane 90+3'

10 June 2017 (2017-06-10)

18:00
(17:00 UTC+1)

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 48,520

Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (Italy)

Slovenia	2–0	Malta
Iličić 45+2' Novaković 84'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

10 June 2017 (2017-06-10)

18:00
(18:00 UTC+2)

Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana

Attendance: 7,839

Referee: Simon Lee Evans (Wales)

Lithuania	1–2	Slovakia
Novikovas 90+3'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Weiss 32' Hamšík 58'

10 June 2017 (2017-06-10)

20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

LFF Stadium, Vilnius

Attendance: 4,083

Referee: Manuel Gräfe (Germany)

---

Lithuania	0–3	Scotland
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Armstrong 25' Robertson 30' McArthur 72'

1 September 2017 (2017-09-01)

20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)

LFF Stadium, Vilnius

Attendance: 5,067

Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spain)

Malta	0–4	England
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Kane 53', 90+2' Bertrand 86' Welbeck 90+1'

1 September 2017 (2017-09-01)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

National Stadium, Ta' Qali

Attendance: 16,994

Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)

Slovakia	1–0	Slovenia
Mevlja 81' (o.g.)	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

1 September 2017 (2017-09-01)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Štadión Antona Malatinského, Trnava

Attendance: 16,896

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

---

England	2–1	Slovakia
Dier 37' Rashford 59'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Lobotka 3'

4 September 2017 (2017-09-04)

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 67,823

Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

Scotland	2–0	Malta
Berra 9' Griffiths 49'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

4 September 2017 (2017-09-04)

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 26,371

Referee: Jakob Kehlet (Denmark)

Slovenia	4–0	Lithuania
Iličić 25' (pen.), 61' (pen.) Verbič 82' Birsa 90'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

4 September 2017 (2017-09-04)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana

Attendance: 6,230

Referee: István Kovács (Romania)

---

England	1–0	Slovenia
Kane 90+4'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

5 October 2017 (2017-10-05)

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 61,598

Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)

Malta	1–1	Lithuania
Agius 23'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Slivka 53'

5 October 2017 (2017-10-05)

20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)

National Stadium, Ta' Qali

Attendance: 3,431

Referee: Zaven Hovhannisyan (Armenia)

Scotland	1–0	Slovakia
Škrtel 89' (o.g.)	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

5 October 2017 (2017-10-05)

20:45
(19:45 UTC+1)

Hampden Park, Glasgow

Attendance: 46,773

Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)

---

Lithuania	0–1	England
	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Kane 27' (pen.)

8 October 2017 (2017-10-08)

18:00
(19:00 UTC+3)

LFF Stadium, Vilnius

Attendance: 5,067

Referee: Orel Grinfeeld (Israel)

Slovakia	3–0	Malta
Nemec 33', 62' Duda 69'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]

8 October 2017 (2017-10-08)

18:00
(18:00 UTC+2)

Štadión Antona Malatinského, Trnava

Attendance: 17,774

Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni (Italy)

Slovenia	2–2	Scotland
Bezjak 52', 72'	Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA)[dead link]	Griffiths 32' Snodgrass 88'

8 October 2017 (2017-10-08)

18:00
(18:00 UTC+2)

Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana

Attendance: 11,123

Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)

Goalscorers

There were 74 goals scored in 30 matches, for an average of 2.47 goals per match.

5 goals

• Harry Kane
• Adam Nemec

4 goals

• Leigh Griffiths
• Robert Snodgrass

3 goals

• Fiodor Černych
• Josip Iličić

2 goals

• Adam Lallana
• Daniel Sturridge
• Arvydas Novikovas
• Vykintas Slivka
• Chris Martin
• James McArthur
• Marek Hamšík
• Róbert Mak
• Vladimír Weiss
• Roman Bezjak
• Benjamin Verbič

1 goal

• Dele Alli
• Ryan Bertrand
• Gary Cahill
• Jermain Defoe
• Eric Dier
• Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
• Marcus Rashford
• Jamie Vardy
• Danny Welbeck
• Andrei Agius
• Alfred Effiong
• Jean Paul Farrugia
• Stuart Armstrong
• Christophe Berra
• Steven Fletcher
• Andrew Robertson
• Ondrej Duda
• Ján Greguš
• Juraj Kucka
• Stanislav Lobotka
• Martin Škrtel
• Valter Birsa
• Boštjan Cesar
• Rene Krhin
• Rok Kronaveter
• Milivoje Novaković

1 own goal

• Martin Škrtel (against Scotland)
• Miha Mevlja (against Slovakia)

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)
Mišo Brečko	Slovenia	vs Ukraine in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying (17 November 2015)	vs Lithuania (4 September 2016)
Jonathan Caruana	Malta	vs Scotland (4 September 2016)	vs England (8 October 2016)
Luke Gambin			vs England (8 October 2016) vs Lithuania (11 October 2016)
Martin Škrtel	Slovakia	vs England (4 September 2016)	vs Slovenia (8 October 2016)
Tomáš Hubočan		vs England (4 September 2016) vs Slovenia (8 October 2016)	vs Scotland (11 October 2016)
Jonathan Caruana	Malta	vs Lithuania (11 October 2016)	vs Slovenia (11 November 2016) vs Slovakia (26 March 2017)
Aljaž Struna	Slovenia	vs Slovakia (8 October 2016) vs England (11 October 2016)	vs Malta (11 November 2016)
Gary Cahill	England	vs Slovenia (11 October 2016) vs Scotland (11 November 2016)	vs Lithuania (26 March 2017)
Georgas Freidgeimas	Lithuania	vs Scotland (8 October 2016) vs Slovakia (11 November 2016)	vs England (26 March 2017)
Andrei Agius	Malta	vs Lithuania (11 October 2016) vs Slovenia (11 November 2016)	vs Slovakia (26 March 2017)
Egidijus Vaitkūnas	Lithuania	vs Scotland (8 October 2016) vs England (26 March 2017)	vs Slovakia (10 June 2017)
Artūras Žulpa		vs Slovenia (4 September 2016) vs England (26 March 2017)
Jean Paul Farrugia	Malta	vs Slovakia (26 March 2017)	vs Slovenia (10 June 2017)
Juraj Kucka	Slovakia	vs Slovenia (8 October 2016) vs Malta (26 March 2017)	vs Lithuania (10 June 2017)
Adam Nemec		vs Malta (26 March 2017)
Valter Birsa	Slovenia	vs England (11 October 2016) vs Scotland (26 March 2017)	vs Malta (10 June 2017)
Boštjan Cesar		vs Slovakia (8 October 2016) vs Scotland (26 March 2017)
Miral Samardžić		vs Lithuania (4 September 2016) vs Scotland (26 March 2017)
Eric Dier	England	vs Slovenia (11 October 2016) vs Scotland (10 June 2017)	vs Malta (1 September 2017)
Nerijus Valskis	Lithuania	vs Malta (11 October 2016) vs Slovakia (10 June 2017)	vs Scotland (1 September 2017)
Alfred Effiong	Malta	vs Scotland (4 September 2016) vs Slovenia (10 June 2017)	vs England (1 September 2017)
Paul Fenech
Ján Ďurica	Slovakia	vs Slovenia (8 October 2016) vs Lithuania (10 June 2017)	vs Slovenia (1 September 2017)
Martin Škrtel		vs Malta (26 March 2017) vs Lithuania (10 June 2017)
Linas Klimavičius	Lithuania	vs Slovakia (10 June 2017) vs Slovenia (4 September 2017)	vs Malta (5 October 2017)
Darvydas Šernas
Ryan Fenech	Malta	vs Slovenia (10 June 2017) vs Scotland (4 September 2017)	vs Lithuania (5 October 2017)
Milan Škriniar	Slovakia	vs Lithuania (10 June 2017) vs England (4 September 2017)	vs Scotland (5 October 2017)
Mantas Kuklys	Lithuania	vs Scotland (8 October 2016) vs Malta (5 October 2017)	vs England (8 October 2017)
Zach Muscat	Malta	vs Slovenia (11 November 2016) vs Lithuania (5 October 2017)	vs Slovakia (8 October 2017)
Róbert Mak	Slovakia	vs Scotland (5 October 2017)	vs Malta (8 October 2017)
Valter Birsa	Slovenia	vs Slovakia (1 September 2017) vs England (5 October 2017)	vs Scotland (8 October 2017)
Rene Krhin		vs Slovakia (8 October 2016) vs England (5 October 2017)

Notes

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